Question

moll flanders
daniel defoe
my true name is so well known in the records or registers, as homely, and in the old bailey, and there are so many things of such consequence and depen ding there relating to my particular conduct, that it may not be expected i should set my name or the account of my family to this work; perhaps, after my death, it may be better known; at present it would not be proper, too, not through a general passion should be avoided, even without exceptions and reserve of persons in crimes.
it is enough to tell you, that on the side of my worst comrades, who are out of the way of doing me harm, having gone out of the world by the steps and the ladder, as we often say, in the case of great ones, known me by the name of moll flanders, so you may give me leave to speak of myself under that name till i dare own who i have been, as well as who i am.
i have been told that in one of neighbouring nations, whether it be in france or where else i know not, they have an order from the king that when any criminal is condemned, either to die, or to the galleys, or to be transported, if they have any children, such are generally taken care of, by the charity or by the government of the place; so they are immediately taken into the care of the government, and put into a hospital called the house of orphans, where they are bred up, clothed, fed, taught, and when fit to go out, are placed out to trades or to services, so as to be well able to provide for themselves by an honest, industrious behaviour.
had this been the custom in our country, i had not been left a poor desolate girl without friends, without clothes, without help or helper in the world, as was my fate, and by which i was not only exposed to very great distresses, even before i was capable either of understanding my case or how to amend it, but led into a course of life which was not only scandalous in itself, but which in its ordinary course tended to the swift destruction both of soul and body.
but the case was otherwise here. my mother was convicted of felony for a certain petty theft scarce worth naming, or having an opportunity of concealing other parts of her balance of a certain shop in cheapside. the circumstances are too long to repeat, and i have heard them related to so many ways, that i am sure no two of them agree which is the right account.
however it was, thus they all agree in, that my mother pleaded her belly, and being found quick with child, she was respited for about seven months, as the term is called, for her mother would, and being about again, she was called down, as they term it, to her former judgment, but obtained the favour of being transported to the plantations, and left me about half a year old, and in bad hands, you may be sure.
this is to account for the first part of my life; the rest is to relate only of myself, but as to my own part, it is enough to mention, that as i was born in such an unhappy place, i had no parish to have recourse to for my nourishment in my infancy; nor can i give the least account how i was kept alive, other than that, as i have been told, some relation of my mother’s took me away for a while as a nurse, but at whose expense, or by whose direction, i know nothing at all of it.
the first account that i can remember, or could ever learn of myself, was that i had wandered among a crew of those people they call gypsies, or egyptians, but i believe i was but a very little child when i was among them, for i had not had my skin discoloured or blackened, as they do very young. all the while i was among them, i can’t tell how i came among them, or how i got from them.
i was at colchester, at essex, then these people left me; and i have a notion in my head that i left them there myself, that i had myself and would not go with them farther. but be that as it may, i stayed in the town a while, not knowing what to do, or where to go. i was, as it were, given up by the hand of providence to hardship, to misfortune, to ruin, to the life of a wanderer, and, by consequence, to the life of a thief, for when one is driven to such shifts as i was, it is hard to be honest. however, as i have said, i was not yet so low; but i went into service to a woman who kept a little inn at the sign of the lion, in colchester. she took me for a very little girl, and i was to do such small offices as i was able to do, and to learn to wait at the bar, which i did; and as i was nimble and willing, she liked me very well, and i had my belly full of good victuals, and my clothes kept me warm, for she was a good, kind woman as far as she went.
it was not many years after i went to this woman before i came to be in a way of business, and that was, indeed, the way to my ruin; for as soon as my mistress was acquainted with my story, and how i came to be in that place, she began to be afraid of me, as a person that was not to be trusted; and, accordingly, she first told me that she could not keep me any longer, because she found i was growing big, and that it was not convenient to have me in the house, and that, therefore, she would put me to service to some gentlewoman, where i might be under rules and taught to be a good girl, as she called it.
i was, indeed, too much of a child to understand the meaning of all she said, but i found by her manner that she was uneasy at me, and that she was resolved to get rid of me; so i told her i was very sorry, and that i hoped she would not send me away, for i had no friends, and knew no one, and did not know where to go. but it was all to no purpose; she was resolved, and so i was sent away to a gentlewoman in the town, who had no children, and wanted a little girl to wait on her, and to do such other things as i was able to do.
this gentlewoman was a widow, and lived in a very good house, and had a great deal of company, and i was to wait at table, and to do other things about the house. she was a very proud woman, and gave herself great airs, but she was very kind to me, and i lived with her about two years, and in that time i learned to read and write, and to do all manner of work about the house, and i was very happy there, for she used me well, and i had plenty to eat and drink, and good clothes to wear.
but, alas! this happiness was not to last long. the gentlewoman fell sick, and after a short illness, she died, and then i was left again without a home, without friends, and without any means of support. i was now about ten years old, and knew not what to do, or where to go. i went back to the inn where i had lived before, but the woman would not take me in again, for she said she had no occasion for me, and that i was too big to be a little girl, and too little to be a woman, and that i must go and seek my fortune elsewhere.
i was now in a very sad condition, and knew not what to do. i walked about the town for several days, not knowing where to go, or what to do. i was hungry, and had no money to buy food, and i was cold, and had no clothes to keep me warm. at last, i met with a woman who was going to london, and she took pity on me, and gave me a lift in her cart, and so i came to london, not knowing where i was going, or what i should do when i got there.
when i came to london, i was in a worse condition than ever. i had no friends, no home, no money, and no clothes, but what i had on my back, which was very ragged and dirty. i wandered about the streets for several days, begging for my bread, and sleeping in the open air, or in some outhouse or cellar, where i could find a place to lie down. i was now about eleven years old, and began to be sensible of my condition, and to reflect on the misfortunes of my life, and to wish that i had never been born.
but, as i have said, i was not yet so low as to be a thief, though i was very near it. i had still some sense of honesty left, and some shame, and i could not bring myself to steal, though i was very hungry, and very much in want. however, i was now in a very desperate condition, and knew not what to do, or where to turn. i had heard of a place called the mint, where poor people went to hide themselves from their creditors, and where they lived in great poverty and misery, but i did not know the way there, or how to get in. at last, i met with a woman who knew the way, and she took me with her, and i went to the mint, and there i lived for several months, in a very poor and miserable condition, among a crew of thieves and prostitutes, and other wicked people.
it was here that i first learned to be a thief, and to live by my wits, as they call it. i was now about twelve years old, and began to be a tall girl, and to look like a woman, and i had a pretty face, and a good figure, and i was soon taken notice of by some of the men in the mint, who wanted to make me their mistress, or to put me into the way of stealing. but i was still very young, and had some sense of virtue left, and i would not consent to their proposals, but i was so poor and so miserable that i was at last forced to submit to their will, and to do whatever they bade me, in order to get a little money to buy food and clothes.
and thus i began my wicked life, which i continued for many years, and which brought me to great misfortunes, and to the very brink of destruction. but i will not trouble you with the particulars of my wicked life, but will only tell you that i was a thief, and a prostitute, and a cheat, and that i did many wicked things, and that i was often in prison, and that i was at last transported to the plantations, as my mother had been before me.
but, as i have said, i will not trouble you with the particulars of my wicked life, but will only tell you that i was at last brought to a sense of my sins, and that i repented of my wickedness, and that i became a new creature, and that i lived a very honest and religious life for many years, and that i died in peace, and in the hope of a blessed eternity.

1. moll flanders is portrayed as a complex character in this passage by

a. showing how she is a woman of action and a woman of thought.
b. giving her a silly sense of humor as well as a tragic backstory.
c. having her admit to being a criminal, but evoking sympathy anyway.
d. revealing that flanders never tells the truth to anyone, even the reader.

Explanation:

To determine the correct answer, we analyze each option:

• Option A: A complex character often has both action - driving and thoughtful aspects. Moll Flanders' narrative shows her as someone who acts (e.g., her life events) and thinks (her reflections on her life, circumstances), so this fits the portrayal of a complex character.
• Option B: The passage doesn't focus on giving her a silly sense of humor or a tragic backstory to show complexity. The humor aspect isn't emphasized, and the backstory is more about her circumstances rather than for the purpose of showing complexity through these two elements.
• Option C: The passage doesn't present her as a criminal in a way that we are supposed to feel sympathy despite her being a criminal. The focus is on her life story and self - presentation, not on this kind of moral - based complexity.
• Option D: The passage shows Moll Flanders telling her story (the truth about her life to the reader), so this option is incorrect as it says she never tells the truth.

Answer:

A. showing how she is a woman of action and a woman of thought