Question

Read the following excerpt and answer the question that follows.

Answer 1

The answer is C.) There were no middle class citizens in that time; only very rich and very poor.

Answer 2

The correct answer is A. Even in that time, there was a lower, middle, and upper class of society.

Explanation:

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe was published in 1719 and tells the story of a man called Robinson Crusoe who lives in a desert island for 28 years after a shipwreck. In the excerpt presented, the main character explains the thoughts and words of his father as he expresses his desire of becoming a sailor.

In this excerpt in terms of historical context the father of Crusoe refers to different social class by stating "these things were all either too far above me or too far below me; that mine was the middle state" that suggest Crusoe and his family belong to Middle class and only those that were from the upper class "superior fortunes" or those in the lower class "desperate fortunes" should follow the same path than Crusoe according to this father. Therefore, the historical context shows "even in that time, there was a lower, middle, and upper class of society".