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Politicizing Samuel Johnson: the moral essays and the question of ideology.

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From: College Literature
Date: 19980922
Author:Dixon, John Converse

The 18th century 'middle sort' in England emerged when pressures brought by social change increasingly widened the social and cultural gap between the propertied classes and the rest of English society. Samuel Johnson's 'Rambler,' 'Adventurer' and 'Idler' essays, where he advocated subordination and insisted on a strong and respected Church and Crown, reflect his middle-class yearning for a stable and rational social order, one in which people have a chance to rise above their station in life through diligence.

Critics of Samuel Johnson have tended to represent him in one of two ways: ...

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