A New Life

I think blame can always be distributed evenly to a multitude of factors: society, ignorance, men, women, chance, and fate. I think Defoe covers all these aspects of blame, because he is a journalist and wants others to see all sides of the situation. I think his commentary throughout the book is the way he responds to the readers own thoughts and judgements on the character he has created,"Leave it as a caution to the readers of this story"(113). His attitude I felt was like, Yes, this is how it should be, but this is how it REALLY is.

He plays with circumstances such as when he writes about how to be married in a safer situation, "She is always marry'd too soon who gets a husband, and she is never marry'd too late, who gets a good one"(72). This sounds like good advice from a grandmother type, but then Defoe brings out the harsh reality with Moll,"But I come to my own case, in which there was at this time no Nicety. The circumstance I was in, made the offer of a good husband, the most necessary thing in the world to me"(73). Then there is the storms, and the ill chance that made her marry her brother, those are certainly things that Moll could not have foreseen, even if she tried to prepare for a "wet day"

Society plays a huge part in what makes Moll the way she is. There was stern control when it came to the prospects of women, she makes this clear when she wants to leave her brother and can't, "It was quite out of my power to stir without his consent, as any one that knows the constitution of the country I was in, knows well"(88).

I think her ending up at Newgate as her mother did, gives a feeling that things come full circle. That Moll was somehow fated for the life she lived,"My own fate pushing me on"(99). I felt the Utopian view that society makes and then punishes the criminal, but also that if you're born of a criminal you will become a criminal. It reminded me of our day and the statics we hear, such as; if you're raised in a broken home there is such and such likely hood that you will end up with your own broken home and blah,blah,blah. Even though Newgate seems to take the symbol that life is just one terrible cycle, I think this is the place that gives Moll the greatest hope for her future. If her mother was able to withstand Newgate and then travel and make a new life for herself so can she. I think this hope is reignited when she sees her son, I don't think its because he was her favorite or anything, I think he was a vision of hope for her, that her own children could escape the cycle of turmoil and despair.

I really have enjoyed this book, it has taught me a lot. I think one of my favorite things about Daniel and his classes has been our blogs. I love reading every one's opinion and the multitude of ways we can look at things. I wanted to thank everyone for helping me find new and exciting ways to view life and all our experiences. Cheers, Liz