Money and Rank in Moll Flanders and Gulliver's Travels Anonymous

The themes of money and rank are clearly present in both Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. In both works, the quest for money and a high rank is depicted as a driving force behind human actions and the necessity of money is seen as a cause for deception. However, the works' protagonists hold entirely different opinions of money and rank. Moll equates money and rank with what is good and important, whereas Gulliver, as is evident in his discussions with his Houy master, notes the negative side of money and rank and equates them with sickness, considering them a contributing factor to negative aspects of English society.

One main similarity between the two works is that both authors depict the want of money and rank and the perceived power that accompanies them as a driving force behind human actions. Defoe interlaces money and rank into almost every aspect of Moll's turbulent life and shows how the quest for money is the drive behind many of Moll's actions and decisions. For a general example, Moll spends much of her life in a quest to find a suitable husband that will provide for her financially. Therefore, a wish for a better financial position in life pushes her to...