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Essay / Constructing Authenticity in A Diary of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe
In A Diary of the Plague Year, Daniel Defoe uses several methods to create a compelling story from fiction. By developing a false diary entry, Defoe creates authenticity primarily through the narrator, HF. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayThe style and language of HF's so-called newspaper plays a big role in constructing authenticity. But beyond these aspects of storytelling lies the development of HF's own story. Although this narrator's personality is not always strong or clear, Defoe succeeds in reinforcing the authenticity of the "diary" through certain aspects of HF's character. Defoe explores HF's emotions and motivation to make him more real. It must convince the reader that there is a living person behind this story, with the reasons for writing it and a place in its events. The existence and credibility of this human presence are central to Defoe's quest to construct authenticity. Many stylistic aspects of the novel contribute to a sense of reality. The outpouring of disgusting, painful, and tragic information creates an effect that mimics the crushing emotional trauma of the plague. By providing preemptive answers to any plausible question with this excess of information, Defoe almost invites the reader to question HF's credibility. Defoe plants false evidence with tables and mathematical diagrams to support all of HF's claims. It even includes supposed government documents from the time, with dates to further reinforce the sense of reality. For example, the existence of dates in HF's assertion that "These orders of my Lord Mayor were published, as I have said, at the end of June and took place from the 1st July..." (57) is more important than their authenticity. Defoe creates an official tone to discourage doubt or questioning. Subtle allusions that consistently uphold the truth of HF's story can be found in Defoe's use of language. Amidst a flood of disturbing stories and terrifying facts, Defoe structures HF's sentences to remind the reader of HF's physical presence at the time of these events. Throughout the book, sentences are interspersed with these reminders. Almost every reported fact is accompanied by the presence of such a statement, always involving the first person. Brief moments like "One of the worst days we had in all this time, as I thought, was..." (118) or "I say, let everyone think..." (113) or " here I must observe” (95) match all the facts and details with a person. And the presence of a human story behind all this factual evidence greatly complements the sense of reality. To present a distinctly human story, Defoe must present a distinctly human HF. Defoe uses emotions to carefully craft HF's authenticity as a real human being. HF's emotion is revealed sparingly when he realizes the manifestations of the plague or when he reacts to specific events. In such cases, Defoe strikes a double blow: he includes HF's physical presence in the story while also inciting pity from the reader. This is a key emotion in connecting with HF, as a human character, which proves that he can suffer like any human. The reader pities HF, and therefore identifies with him, when he explains "I must admit that this period was terrible, that I was sometimes at the end of all my resolutions, and that I did not have the courage to I had at.