Daniel Defoe: Journalistic Writing and Interpretation

THIS DOC could be used to record responses to Daniel Defoe's writing.  There was also a printed copy of this handed out in class.

Begin by reading the informative info. provided on p. 557 about Daniel Defoe's A Journal of the Plague Year (pp. 558-564).

• Respond in a paragraph to the "quickwrite" on p. 557, using examples from books/movies/television series/etc. of today for supporting examples.

In this writing, Defoe gives a first-person account, although he was not actually a reliable eyewitness to the plague epidemic (he was only five when it occurred).  The journal is a semi-fictional writing that required a good deal of research on his part to make it reliable and realistic.
Defoe used his own childhood memories, the recollections of his uncle and older other people who had lived through the plague epidemic of 1665, city records, and printed matter from pamphlets, books, sermons, etc. of the time period.

• Next, read the excerpt from A Journal of the Plague Year (pp. 558-564). 
• Then, choose 4 questions to answer from #1-7 on p. 565 for application of your knowledge. 
• Finally, in a few sentences, answer #8 or #9 from p. 565 to further your connections.

Authors today follow a similar research pattern when writing historical fiction accounts, represented through the first-person eyes of someone who lived through it.

• Go to this site to see how author Lauren Tarshis uses research to place her characters and build their story.  Write a short response as to how this interactive book format impacts you as a reader, and how this might be beneficial as a format going forward for the historical fiction genre.
• Then, go to this site to read an excerpt of her book Fever 1793 and see how author Laurie Halse Anderson provides extensive research materials that can be used to further explore the topics presented in this book.  Write a short response to Anderson's writing style and compare it to Defoe's writing. Also, write about how info. from the sources could be used to help a reader understand the time period and subject matter further.
• Finally, choose one of the historical fiction books in the front of the classroom.  Read in the book for 10 minutes.  Then, in a short, written response, compare how this author represents a historical perspective through his/her main character (the character who is narrating the story).  Write about the style this author uses, and how he/she makes history "come alive" to the reader.