The purpose of the present text is to compare two extracts. The first one belongs to Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, while the second one is Letter XI from Richardson’s Pamela.

First of all, you will soon notice they are two very different text formats: the first one is a journal, while the second has the typical structure of a letter. In both of them you can recognize some strong points.

Starting from the Journal, you will immediately notice its definite structure: it is organized into 10 sequences, every one starting with time references. Is purpose is to describe R. Crusoe’s everyday actions following a chronological order with a , technical and rational register (even though in the very first sequences you can read some references to emotions). There are many references to weather conditions. Through these descriptions the reader can understand something about the character’s personality: he is an hard working person with great planning abilities. It is not meant to have a definite addressee nor to have a feedback. Considering that the narrator is the same as the protagonist and the eyewitness the reader can have an only point of view and is restricted into its horizons.

Going on, considering the letter, you can recognize the typical structure. The sender is Pamela and the addressees  are her parents. You can notice that it is written using a more colloquial register, with some false starts (ex. Well, now..) and with a personal form of communication. The register is specific, according to what is being told. There are many references to emotions (she says she is very afraid of Mr. D) and the writers uses many times the pronoun “you” to address to her mother. Even in this extract the narrator is the same as the protagonist and the eyewitness and so the reader’s horizons are restricted.

Taking into consideration all that said before, I can say the two extract have  different strong and weak points.