At the beginning of the 1722th century, in XNUMX, the book came out Diary of the year of the plague by British writer and journalist Daniel Defoe. Thus, the writer also known for his novel Robinson cruose, narrated what happened during the great plague of London in 1665. Therefore, it should be noted at the outset that this fictional novel was published half a century after the epidemic occurred in England.
Therefore, although the author appears as a witness narrator, the truth is that when the plague struck London, he was only five years old. Namely, the reader finds himself before a masterpiece of the detailed and "experiential" story, based on real events (never experienced by its writer). However, it is a journalistic work with testimonies and real records of the time.
Biography of Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe, apparently, was born in London on October 10, 1660 and died in that city on April 24, 1731. He is also considered one of the pioneers of the novelistic genre, universally recognized for his first work of fiction. Robinson Crusoe (1719). As well He stood out as a journalist, to the point of being the creator of the so-called economic press.
In addition, he dedicated his life to very diverse commercial activities, which included the textile sector or the sale of bricks, for example. Previously, he had started in the ecclesiastical career, but abandoned it due to his permanent business motivation. Later, He was part of the government through the secret services of his country, working in a magazine in support of a certain political sector.
Daniel Defoe: the man
The British writer was the son of Presbyterian parents, known for dissenting from important doctrines of the Church of England. His father James was a dedicated butcher, while at age 10 he was orphaned by his mother Annie. Notably At the age of seven he began his academic training in various schools, abandoning it to become a merchant.
However, the failure in his life as a merchant is widely known, marked by strong and permanent indebtedness that led him to prison. Despite this, he would take over a boat and some land, without obtaining beneficial results. Apart of this, he insisted on trying his luck in his love life; in 1684 he married Mary Tuffley, with whom he had eight children.
Political and literary life
In 1701, Daniel Defoe published the first work with which he would gain some recognition, True english. Regarding this publication, it should be noted that the British writer took a position in defense of King William III. In this way, his pamphlet disposition (for which he was well known and had problems before the law) would be confirmed.
In fact, Defoe was jailed because of the pamphlet The shortest way with the dissidents, a parody on the Tories of the Church. Since he put the aforementioned "in the pillory" and exposed them to public derision (from there arose his Hymn to the Pillory). The reader can use these two texts to understand the political character of his texts prior to the novels that would make him famous.
His novelistic
Regarding the works of fiction published by Daniel Defoe, a 1719 novel titled Robinson Crusoe. Thanks to this title Defoe gained universal recognition. In it he recounts the extreme situations of a man who has been shipwrecked. (Inspired by the true story of the sailor Alexander Selkirk who had been shipwrecked on a Pacific island).
Equally, it is necessary to mention his other two important novels: The Adventures of Captain Singleton (1720) and Diary of the year of the plague (1722) In the first, one sees the love (gratitude) of one man towards another who manages to change his life of perdition and social ostracism.
About Diary of the year of the plague
Style and purpose
In this book the reader will find a kind of chronicle on the events of the great London plague. Where the narrator is interested in telling accurately, but seems not to be fully involved in what happened. In any case, It can be noted that this is a very well elaborated journalistic and investigative literary style.
While Diary of the year of the plague it is a work of fiction, Defoe demonstrated his investigative skills by his way of collecting real testimonies and official records. Consequently, the reader can perceive a closeness of the apparent protagonist with the narrator. In addition, the great purpose was to leave for the posterity of memory the impact of the tragedy experienced in 1665 with the plague.
The great theme of the novel
This English novel, whose chronological plot and narrative in an experiential tone, works the historical theme of the great plague of London. As is known, Europe had already experienced the tragedy of the bubonic plague since the fourteenth century. However, Londoners anticipated the repeated experience of the same epidemic in 1665, with 20% of its inhabitants dying.
The author's vision of the tragedy
Similarly, it cannot be said that it is only a novel with fictitious or anecdotal content. Conversely, Diary of the year of the plague addresses the epidemic circumstance with some foundations of medicine. In addition, Defoe supported the issue with statistics and evidence of an event that marked a generation.
For these reasons, the point of view of the narrator is endowed with enough objectivity and forcefulness. Likewise, as it is a novel without dialogue, the reader sees a fairly reliable representation of paintings (this, in turn, gives the work greater relevance).
Summary of Diary of the year of the plague
This work recounts in astonishing detail what happened during the great London plague of 1665. At that time, that disease was a latent fear among the population of the British Empire ... which became a real nightmare. At first, Defoe - through the narrator - gives sermons about the human condition and against the supposed supernatural causes of the plague.
Then, the rapporteur dedicates himself to describing in detail the daily social situations caused by the spread of the disease. On his way through the London streets, the writer did not hesitate to show the most miserable part of the metropolis through small and shocking stories.
Legacy
Content Diary of the year of the plague it has an everlasting validity. Throughout the history of mankind, two events of global reach have been repeated that confirm this. The first, the influenza epidemic (avian flu, H1N1) of 1918. The second, the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic triggered from 2020.
The 1918-1920 pandemic was called "The Spanish Flu" because it attacked soldiers fighting in the French trenches during the Great War (later renamed "First World War") but the first to report was the Spanish press, which was neutral and was not subject to war censorship. It is said that this virus mutated in the United States and was spread by soldiers who went to fight in Europe in 1917, although there is a hypothesis of mutations of the common flu virus exposed to chemical weapons (poisonous gases) used by both sides in the destroyer. war unleashed by the expansionist ambitions of European rulers. Millions of dead due to the ambition of greedy men who never exposed their lives on the battlefield and when they lost went into exile like Wilhelm II of Germany, the genocide with impunity who ordered the slaughter of Hereros and Namas in 1904-1908 in present-day Namibia. .