Pengarang: Thomas Day

Thomas Day (1748-1789) was a British author best known for his children”s literature, which combined enlightenment educational theories with moral storytelling. His seminal work, “The History of Sandford and Merton”, was first published in three volumes between 1783 and 1789. The book is often remembered for the edifying tales within, which sought to instill virtuous character in young readers. Day effectively employed the “story-within-a-story” format, utilizing the narrative to explore various philosophical, social, and moral themes. A proponent of Rousseauvian educational principles, evident in the book”s emphasis on natural education, Day presented his protagonists, Tommy Merton and Harry Sandford as foils – the former a child of privilege needing moral refinement, the latter a paragon of innate virtue and simplicity. His literary style was informed by his zealous commitment to social reform, advocating against slavery and for animal rights, long before these positions were widely adopted. While his didactic approach has fallen out of modern pedagogic favor, Day”s “The History of Sandford and Merton” remains a significant work because of its reflection of eighteenth-century educational and social ideals.