18th Century London
In the first part of The Secret River by Kate Grenville, the author allows us to understand more about what life was like in the eighteenth century of London. Kate Grenville definitely reveals the hardship and suffering of the poor by looking at William and how he was always hungry or cold. I also think that another thing that Kate Grenville tries to convey about this era is crime during the eighteenth century of London. Theft happened a lot during this period of time in London because the poor needed to steal as a way to survive. We see this happen in the book when William and Sal have to steal in order to survive. Rob also steals a boot and figures that he can sell it to make some money, which was likely scarce for the poor at the time.
Additionally, in part one of the book, Kate Grenville reveals what prisons were like during this time period in London. She writes, "In Newgate the people were packed tight in stone cells" (Grenville 59). I think that this shows how the conditions in prisons like Newgate Prison were pretty bad and overcrowded. Professor Burnham's lecture also pointed out that since these prisons were overcrowded, prisoners had to be moved on ships for more space or transported to colonies. It was also sad to hear that these prisoners in this time period and place were barely fed and worked ten hour days, and a portion of the prisoners died just because of these conditions.
Hey Kiana, I definitely agree with you on Greenville's description being a driving force to describe London. Words such as "I was always hungry" or parts talking about stealing really hammer on the idea you brought forth.
ReplyDeleteThe first section definitely provided me different context surrounding stealing, because in this case it was the only way for the Thornhills to survive.
ReplyDeleteExactly, I think we would interpret Will's behavior later in the book much differently if we hadn't had this background of stealing as a means of survival
DeleteI was also really struck by the description of prisons, and I couldn't help but draw connections to Equiano's autobiography. I do feel for Will, but in comparison to Equiano's experience as a former slave, Will's suffering as a convict will never come close to Equiano's.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison between the two novels and their themes of theft for survival is great, I hadn't thought of it this way
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting to see how all these hardships and oppression of the poor developed someone like Will. It's easy to hate someone for their ideology and mindset when you only view them through their privilege, when in reality it's often oppression and misdirected anger that create a colonizer complex.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot about the criminal justice system in 18th century England as well, and it was both surprising and sad to hear about about the severity of punishments and conditions of the prisoners.
ReplyDeleteI never knew about the holding of prisoners on ships due to the lack of space. I'd be curious to learn if escape or death rates changed due to the change of location, or if prisoners convicted of certain crimes were more likely to be moved onto a ship than others.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the beginning definitely made me look at crime differently. I can't imagine how they would've survived without stealing. Theft became a necessity thanks to a society that failed its lower class.
ReplyDeleteThe first part was excellent for understanding the background context of Will's experience as a convict.
ReplyDeleteWere you only saddened by the conditions the prisoners faced, or were you also surprised by it?
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