The Life of Daniel Defoe Essay -- English Literature Authors Daniel De

The Life of Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe was easily one of the most influential and accomplished English author/writer of all time. Not only is Daniel Defoe considered as the founder of the English novel along with Samuel Richardson, but he was also a critical figure in European journalism and political commentary. Defoe has produced as much as 200 works of non fiction and 2,000 short essays in various periodical publications. In addition to over half a dozen full length novels such as Robinson Crusoe, a tale of a shipwrecked sailor stranded on a remote island. Defoe has done more than anyone else in his lifetime; he was a merchant, business owner, soldier, editor, journalist, and writer. Much of his life he was oppressed because of his religion, beliefs, and political and social ideals, because of his opposition to the church and state he was jailed and imprisoned many times. Defoe's writing reflected the fast growth of the English Middle class with new business opportunities in 1600-1700. Daniel Foe was born in London sometime in 1660 to an English butcher and candle merchant James Foe. He later changed his surname to Defoe, probably to return to his old foreign family name. His father was a Dissenter, a Presbyterian protestant who was not a part of the established Anglican Church. Defoe's mother died when he was 10, and his father sent him to boarding school. At the time Dissenters could not attend Cambridge and Oxford universities(unless they take an oath to the Church of England), in fact at the time Dissenters were prosecuted slightly by the Catholic who were the majority of the country. Dissenters had to send their children to dissenting academies. At the age of 14 Defoe went to attend a dissentin... ...and economic surroundings effected human nature. His novels are important in history because they mark an important break from traditional long poems and dramas. Defoe created reality of what we are reading by presenting realistic details and conditions. Defoe's complex lifestyle contributed to his understanding of people and the world. Annotated Bibliography "Daniel Defoe @ Catharton" . Biography of Daniel Defoe expressing his involvement with religion and politics. Books and Writers Online. . Biography of Daniel Defoe quoting and describing the work that he has published and produced. With a list of work along with dates. Daniel 'The True-Born Englishman' Defoe - Incomptech . Summery of important events in life of Daniel Defoe. His imprisonment and struggle by the Catholic church. "Daniel Defoe" World Book Encyclopedia. 234. 1992.