Research Paper Presentations
PAP E R
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Evelina: A Story of How Ownership to a Name Affects a Young Lady’s Acceptance into Society Kristen Mastrangelo Faculty Mentor: Professor Michael Schuyler Department of English During the Regency Period of England, literature was being published by primarily male authors. It was looked down upon and regarded as inappropriate for female writers to be published. One of these writers was Frances Burney. Frances Burney’s entrance into the history of the literary world began in 1778 with her anonymous publication of Evelina. She feared being ridiculed by society. Being humiliated in society was one of the worst things that could happen to a woman. I completely understand why Burney would want to publish her novel without her name. However, in doing so, she parallels her title character of the novel. No name brings along unknown ownership and identity. Evelina is a young woman who does not know where she fits into society because the surname by which she can be identified with cannot be claimed. Just as Burney eventually will be found out and acclaim ownership of her novel, so will Evelina claim a last name and understand where she belongs. In this paper, I will look at how ownership of a name allows for someone to understand the importance of identity which was of most importance during the Regency Era.
PAPER
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British Imperialist Ideals in Robinson Crusoe Joseph Palumbo Faculty Mentor: Professor Michael Schuyler Department of English In Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe, Defoe utilizes the titular character as a means of exposing and criticizing expansionist ideals that were present during the imperialistic reign of England. Written during the Augustan Age, Robinson Crusoe was published in a vital historical moment when England was extending its grasp towards foreign territories that the nation soon colonized. The global trade market was booming as exotic commodities and slaves were being sent across the world and as ruling imperial nations purchased them. An outspoken essayist and pamphlet writer who advocated for the expansion of England, Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe as a means of commenting on the economic growth and domineering stance England was taking toward its colonized lands.This paper analyzes Defoe’s past activism with England’s growing expansion, while also evaluating previous academic articles that have dissected Defoe’s novel in regards to its relation with imperialistic ideologies. In it, I will also explore how the character of Robinson Crusoe comes to dominate and to establish a social hierarchy over the island he is stranded on, all of which further parallels the expansionist principles of England’s growing empire.The actions that Crusoe takes throughout the narrative come to exemplify what the ideal Englishman was thought to be during this era, and I will expose how Defoe depicts Crusoe as being a colonizing “man of his time.”
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