The Restoration

(from Encyclopedia Britannica)

1. Research The Glorious Revolution (sometimes called the Bloodless Revolution) online or in one of the textbooks. Write a paragraph summarizing what happened, and then another that explains why you think the event was so important.

After Charles II of England died in 1685, his brother James II succeeded him. James II was a Roman Catholic and many English people opposed Roman Catholics. One reason was because it was widely believed that Roman Catholics started a fire in London and caused other disasters. Another reason is because English people were worried that James II would hand over power to the pope. When James had a son (a catholic heir) the Royal family thought it wasn’t safe and fled to France. King James II was forced into exile. His Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange took the throne. This accomplished the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

The main reason why I think this event was important is because after this the monarchy in England would never again hold absolute power. In turn, the Kings powers were greatly restricted and Parliament became more powerful. The overthrow of James II finally established Protestantism in England.

2. Define "satire". Don't just copy and paste a definition from another source. Read the definition, and then explain it in your own words. Once you have done that, provide a few modern-day examples of satire (television shows, movies, magazines, etc.).

Satire is a type of writing or art in which irony or sarcasm may be used to expose something wrong or unexpected. The use of satire in TV shows, movies, and magazines is very common. One example of a TV show that uses satire is Family Guy. Another more popular show that uses satire is The Simpsons.

3. Read "A Modest Proposal", which may be difficult at first, but if you stick with it, the message will become more clear. Once you are finished reading, you should write a short response to what you read (4-5 sentences), and explain how this is a work of satire.

After reading this I have to say that Johnathan Swift is a sick man. He first talks about how the streets are filled with woman beggars and their children. He makes it seem like the children are burdens to their mothers and that they are the ones responsible for their situation. Then he goes on to say that beggars are also hurting the commonwealth. This is probably true. What he proposes next shocked me.

He explains how a baby can be kept well on his/her mother’s milk for the first year. Breast milk is free so there are no expenses to the mother. He then proposes that the after the first year the babies can be sold for food. This is one of the sickest ideas I have heard of. Swift actually goes on telling the readers why he believes this will be a good way to fix the problem. I thought most of his ideas were absolutely ridiculous or just flat out sick.

When I realized that Swift was using satire I felt relieved. It turns out he’s not really serious. "A Modest Proposal" is a work of satire because what is normally expected was turned upside down. Instead of proposing something like a place for the poor children to go Swift proposes that the children be sold for human consumption. This was not what I expected he would propose and this is what makes it a work of satire.

4. Read either "from the Diary of Samuel Pepys" or "from A Journal of the Plague Year" by Daniel Defoe, both of which can be found in the purple anthology. Once you have finished reading, write a 1-2 paragraph response to what you have read. Please be sure to include some direct evidence from the text to help show what you are responding to.

The piece of literature I chose to read is "A Journal of the Plague Year" by Daniel Defoe. In this work Defoe writes his accounts of the plague that struck London in the form of a journal. The only problem is that Defoe was only five years old when it happened. By using his childhood memories, city records, and accounts from other people he manages to create this journal. He uses the initials H.F. to serve as the narrator. After reading this I have to say that Defoe was successful in making the reader believe that this was written by an eyewitness when the plague occured.

My favorite exert from "A Journal of the Plague Year" was the one about the poor piper. The poor piper was "an ignorant, weak, poor man" that usually walked around 10 o’ clock at night and went piping from door to door. People usually took him in and gave him food and drinks. When the plague came he couldn’t do this anymore. He started to get skinny and this made it seem like he was dead. One day when the death carts came by they thought the poor piper was dead from the plague so they lifted him into the cart with the dead bodies. It turned out he was only sleeping. Luckily he woke up right before being thrown into the pit with the bodies. I thought this was hilarious. Even though this was a really sad time Defoe was still able to add some comedy into his exerts. I think he is able to do this because he wasn’t writing a first hand account and he didn’t really suffer from all the grief. He was too young to really know what was happening at the time.

5. What do you think was most important to people living in this time? Write a 1-2 paragraph response to this question in which you use direct evidence from the texts you read to support whatever arguments you make.

During the Restoration and the Eighteenth Century England was going through some hard times. Civil War, disease, and even poverty were draining the country. People would actually leave the country just to get away from all the problems. If I were living in England during this time I would want changes for the better more than anything else. This is why I believe that change was the most important thing to most of the people at the time. The only people I could think of that wouldn’t find changes for the better important would be the upper class because they were living well. But even the upper class would want changes for the better when plague or religious and political persecution came.