P. 174 Passage

“From hence ’tis Evident to me, that when once we are harden’d in Crime, no Fear can affect us, no Example gives us any warning.”

In this passage, Moll is explaining that she believes once someone has become a criminal there is no way they will ever become a law abiding citizen again. No matter what anyone says to a criminal, there is no way for them to be converted back to following the law. Crime creates an immunity to fear and a disappearance of reason inside a criminal that is irrevocable. Although Moll indicates that she believes in what she has said, she is trying to make an excuse for her actions. She suggests that she no longer has a choice of what she is doing, and evil is in complete control of her. In my opinion, I do not agree with her statement. Everyday criminals are released from prison and allowed to start over. Although some of them will not choose to start over, many of them go on to live a life without crime. Rehabilitation centers would not exist if people were not capable accepting guidance from others to move on from their past.

P. 174 Passage

“From hence ’tis Evident to me, that when once we are harden’d in Crime, no Fear can affect us, no Example gives us any warning.”

In a nutshell, the passage on page 174 shows how Moll has adapted to the criminal lifestyle to the point where fear does not exist in her heart anymore. It is true that many criminals in today’s society seem as if they are afraid of nothing. This is shown through their criminal activities such as theft, and murder. Even though through their actions it seems as if all criminals fear nothing, it is a fair statement to say that everyone fears something. Fears in a criminal’s life don’t have have to be things like the cops, or even death. Each person has their own personal fears. I agree that many criminals have decided to commit the crimes that they do because of their background. Many people are born into families of previous criminal activity, so the “no fear” often goes down the family chain. Fear is the basis of all criminal’s activity. For example, a criminal’s father could have been abusive to the criminal, and that is the sole reason for the criminal committing his crimes. Even though it appears as if criminals are “badass” and fear nothing, fear is the sole basis for their crimes. In the end, fear truly can affect criminals. In fact, fear is the main affect on their daily lives. Bruce Wayne in batman shows his fear of bats to society by actually being batman. By representing himself as batman, he can ultimately over come his fear.

Hardened in Crime

“From hence ’tis Evident to me, that when once we are harden’d in crime, no fear can affect us, no example gives us any warning.”

In general, I agree with Moll’s declaration that someone used to crime cannot change their ways. It is possible to only commit a crime once or twice and then stop, but after repeatedly committing a crime and becoming used to it it i unlikely that anything will convince someone to stop. This is evidenced by the fact that criminals who have gone to jail have a high probability of being repeat offenders due to the fact that it is far easier to pick uip a habit than it is to drop a bad one.

Page 174 Passage

“…once we are hardened in crime, no fear can affect us, no example give us any warning” (174).

While the above quotation may be true as it pertains to Moll, I do not agree that the above statement is true for all individuals. Although some people may have lived a life of crime, mainly out of necessity for survival, they still, in reality, can be fearful of many things, regardless of how many dangers they are a part of–it is human nature. Within the novel, Moll seems to be one that certainly has lost many of her fears due to a life of crime. She steals on instinct without much fear of the consequences and is in general confident in many of her dangerous actions. This makes for an interesting book that will sell many copies, but in the real world there are not many people out there that do as many dangerous, illegal, and exiting things as Moll, sometimes because of their fear of the consequences.

Moll Flanders p174 passage

“From hence ’tis Evident to me, that when once we are harden’d in Crime, no fear can affect us, no Example give us any warning.”

What Moll is saying through these words is that she has become somewhat numb to the feeling of what the guilt and pain that is brought to one when committing any sort of crime. She has become so accustomed to it that her fear and outlook on it has changed drastically into a viewpoint of no fear whatsoever. This relates to the real world as there are so many people who have grown up in a life where crime has been such a heavy influence or presence. Regardless, they keep doing it despite the risk of going to jail or dying because they simply have no fear for what may happen to them.

page 174 post

“From hence ’tis Evident to me, that when once we are harden’d in crime, no fear can affect us, no example gives us any warning.”

In this passage Moll Flanders is saying that once someone commits multiple crimes, they are on that path forever and can never change. I do not agree with this ideology. I believe that people can change and chose a better lifestyle.  Our penal system as  it is currently set, would not be the least bit successful if what Moll said is true. There may not be a large number of people who change, but some do.  Moll continues to commit crimes, and though her conscious ways on her it does not affect her actions. This however is not true for all, because there are people who do repent, and change their lives. Many people who repeat crimes are in financial trouble like Moll at some point or another, and continue to commit crimes. It would be unbelievable that once committing crimes a person would be unable to correct their choices, and live a good life.

Moll Flanders p.174 reflection

At the time of this passage, Moll Flanders has amassed a decent fortune from her mischievous acts. So this begs the question, why hasn’t she stopped? She went on and on earlier about how she regrets her past and how content she was with a calmer, more stable life. However now she is in a position where she could potentially return to that retired life, but she chooses not to. At this point, I would argue that Moll has come to enjoy the art of thievery. She is almost like the stereotypical master thief of our world today that steals invaluable pieces of art from museums just for the fun of it. They are already wealthy and most definitely don’t need the money. She has grown very comfortable with stealing, as she is good at it and has not yet suffered any repercussions for her acts. Moll pays no heed to the risks she takes, even when she sees other thieves suffer terrible consequences. This is the first time in Moll’s life that she is personally amassing her fortune without being at the mercy of a man. This life is like a drug addiction for Moll; she can’t just leave it, as it’s too good to be true.

Page 174 Reflection (Moll Flanders)

“From hence ’tis Evident to me, that when once we are harden’d in Crime, no Fear can affect us, no Example give us any warning.” (Defoe 174)

Moll seems to be saying that once someone has committed a crime, no fear or warnings will stop us if the crime was more beneficial than if it did not occur. Once Moll realizes that these crimes were beneficial, it starts to become more of a regular occurrence because she was not getting caught. I agree with this passage because it is definitely evident in this book that once someone has committed a crime, no fear or any consequences can prevent someone from committing another crime as long as they do not get in trouble. Moll has displayed in this book that inhumanity took over once once she acted illegally and did not get in trouble, so she was not scared anymore and nothing was in her way. This relates to real life because it is common for someone who commits a crime or doe something a little less drastic without getting in trouble, it makes it a lot easier and less scary for that person to do it again. For example if someone were to cheat on a test in school without getting caught, then there is a good chance that that person could do it again.

Passage Reflection Moll Flanders

“From hence ’tis evident to me, that when once we are hardened in crime, no fear can affect us, no example give us any warning”

This passage states that once somebody commits a crime they are basically sucked into a life of crime and that there is no turning back.  Moll’s experience with crime proves that this passage is truthful. Moll’s first experience with crime was when she stole the bundle on the street. After this experience, Moll gets sucked into a life of crime. She got away easy and without any trouble after committing this first crime, so she continued to steal whatever she could. Because it was so easy, she continued to commit these crimes and turned to a life of crime. Once Moll or anyone’s life becomes a life of crime “no fear can affect us, no example give us any warning.” As Moll becomes more and more used to committing these crimes, she even starts to justify her actions by trying to make herself believe that the victim is the one to blame. An example of this is when Moll steals a little girl’s necklace. After she does this she tries to make it seem like it is the girl’s fault. She says that the girl should not have been so careless and she says that these kind of things happen in that area of town. By trying to justify her actions, we know that the passage is true. Because Moll got sucked into a life of crime, she now commits these crimes ignoring any “fear” or “example of a warning.”

Moll Flanders p. 174 Reflection

I think Moll touches on an important human flaw when she says that “once we are harden’d in Crime, no Fear can affect us, no Example give us any warning” (Defoe, 174).  Humans have a tendency to ignore certain moral warnings or voices, especially when the sinful acts in question are immediately or materially beneficial. This theme of susceptibility to sin is evident throughout literature and history. In the novel Moll Flanders itself, the protagonist commits multiple sins with little to no remorse, feeling repentant only in times of wealth and stability. The minute Moll falls back into poverty -the “Devil’s snare” -she reverts back to her wicked ways. She claims necessity, but grows more and more comfortable acting outside of what is truly a “necessity” for her.

This is evident in real life as well. Criminals who do not get caught or punished for their actions often grow bolder and start to commit worse sins. Even repeat offenders find the lure of the sin to be a greater influence than the law or any punishment. The same sort of thing happens in so-called “Foxhole prayers,” where the sinner feels no guilt or remorse until such a time as they fear for their life, safety, or happiness. Often, a “moral warning” is not enough, and the sinner continues to commit immoral acts until they are forcibly stopped by the law or death.