What are the common features of Defoe's four minor novels? And what are their social significances?
Defoe's four minor novels deal with the personal history of some hero or heroine， usually a whore, a pirate, a pickpocket, a rogue or some other criminal. Their history is traced from their unfortunate childhood, through their many vicissitudes in life, to their final prosperity or repentance and death. The all powerful influence of material circumstances or social environment upon the thoughts and actions of the hero or the heroine is highlighted. The struggle of the poor unfortunate for mere existence, mixed with their desire for great wealth, comes into conflict with the social environment which prevents them from obtaining the goal under normal circumstances and thus forces them into criminal actions or bold adventures. The group of the four novels clearly manifest Defoe's deep concern for the poor and the unfortunate in his society. They are the first literary works devoted to the study of problems of the lower class people. (P97)
