Moll Flanders

Now, this may come as a shock, but I was very hesitant to start reading this novel. As soon as I picked it up at the bookstore, a strange chill of dread ran down my spine, warning me to just put it back and walk away. I fought through this dread, however, and attempted to dive head first into the text, placing all of my judgements aside. Now, I convinced myself that, where this was a newgate novel, I might find some enjoyment in it because the newgate stuff is so darn interesting! I began my reading quest and was, at first, pleasantly surprised. I was intrigued by the notion of false identity that Moll explains to us. It made me want to know more about her life and how she came to deciding to resort to using this false identity. I soon realized that, although this was very neat, it seemed to drag on forever. The dialogue was a bit tricky to wade through because I found it difficult to know who was saying what about whom. Also, and this is purely out of my own ignorance, I found the whole lack of chapters thing really strange and difficult as well. Now, it is foolish to be angry with Defoe for not including chapters because I’m sure it was just his way of doing things, but I never knew when I could stop reading I would read page after page after page and then become hungry, but I couldn’t eat because the book didn’t tell me that I could take a break! After finally succumbing to the growling of my stomach, I just had to put the book down. It was tough, but I did it. Now, on a completely unrelated note, I really liked Annie’s “Maud Flanders” reference! I found myself doing the same thing and thinking about how opposite, but at the same time similar these two characters were. I wonder if the writers of The Simpsons really are that brilliant….I’ve also thought so, but just not in this way….Anyways, Moll Flanders was definetely not my favorite novel, but I do feel a sense of pride in that I can say I actually finished it  

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