Encountering the Other in 'Rasselas,' 'Roxana,' and Boswell's London Journal Anonymous College

Due to the interconnectivity of the world today, people living in the 21st century encounter the other fairly often. Whether this other relates to religion, sexuality, culture, race, or any number of other factors, most people have some sort of interaction with someone or something that is different than themselves. Though the world of the 18th century was less societally interwoven, the same can be said in regards to encounters with the other. The same can be said for eighteenth-century works of literature. Writers such as James Boswell, Daniel Defoe, and Samuel Johnson all work with the idea of an individual interacting with the other in their respective works London Journal, Roxana, and The History of Rasselas. Whenever an individual experiences the other, whether fictional or not, they are forced to adapt their thoughts in order to align with the views of the new people and society that they find themself interacting with.

Johnson’s The History of Rasselas chronicles the Rasselas, the Prince of Abissinia, and his companion’s experiences leaving their kingdom and trying to understand the greater world around them. The group leaves Abissinian society in order to live and experience an authentic life of the other around them....