Block 1 – henry fielding – Tom Jones
17- 18 books
Story from Toms birth to his marriage to Sophia.
3 Places – Somersetshire, road, London
It seems that Fielding has chosen these topics at random and that he ;wants to share his ideas directly with the reader. It also gives us the impression that Fielding does not consider it necessary to relate these ideas in a direct sort of a way to the evolving action of the novel - for him it does not matter whether those ideas have a bearing on the novel or not. The narrator seems to keep a close watch gn the way the audience would,react to the different comments in the novel - the way inlwhich the reader would consciously or unconsciously construct the meaning of the narration. In one sense, the audience is involved by the narrator, as if under a plan, to act Out an imaginary situation in which the role of the narrator is directional or directorial -to lead the activated minds of the audience towards a general, collectivised experknce. It is a difficult thing for an author to do
Protagonist – Tom Jones – Bastard, object of ridicule rejection and condemnation. Good neture, follow rules, feminist, courageous, fearless. 'spontaneity' and 'natural behaviour
Sophia - Love interest, idealised version of a woman grows to an individual through the novel, kindness and generosity, capacity to rise above their immediate personal interests
Squire Allworthy – Rich, on whose bed tom was born. He was kind to tom.
Captain Bilfil – husband of Bridget
Master Bilfil – Allworthy’s nephew
Square – secular atheistic outlook on correct and consistent human behaviour – principles – tom and bilfil’s teacher
Thawackum - – understands everything in strictly religious terms – ideals - tom and bilfil’s teacher
Squire Western –father of Sophia, friend to tom, member of the landed gentry, high and mighty secyion if society, hunt, dine and laugh together A good person, though thoroughly impulsive and unpredictable
Black partridge
Molly seagrim – daughter of Black partridge, symbol of aggressive female sexuality, powerful symbol of human vigour and raw sexual power. Molly has none of the prudish, hypocritical sense of chastity
mrs honour
Mrs. Fitzwater
Bridget - biological mother of tom ,superior social status, not good-looking
Lady Bellaston - highly individualistic self-centred and mean, sexuality changes into a sick routinized behaviour
Mrs waters – SA & social harassment, chances of incest with tom
Captain waters
Black George – tom lied to save him. He said that he had killed the bird even though he hadn’t.
Jenny jones – takes blame for bridget and says that Tom was her son
Summary - https://www.sparknotes.com/
Protagonist – Tom Jones – Bastard, object of ridicule rejection and condemnation, entirely 'unformed.' He appears to be a mere lump of clay. He has that classic inability to adhere to a given code since he would not understand its worth or relevance. suffers a great deal for being naturally good and selfless. Tom always treats women, irrespective of their social standing, as equal to men. is not influenced by that exploitative attitude under which the males are supposed to manage . the affairs of society and women have to merely act as their appendages. greatly courageous and fearless, more often than not be able to conquer his enemy. f 'spontaneity' and 'natural behaviour. kindness and generosity, capacity to rise above their immediate personal interests. y a time to sacrifice this wish if that ensured her safety and preservation. Sophia, too, places personal happiness far below her duty towards her father - she would not marry anyone if Squire western did not approve of it. The only point she sticks to, and it is a high point of her self-assertion - is that Squire Western would not choose a husband for her
Love interest – Sophia
Squire Allworthy – Rich, on whose bed tom was born. He was kind to tom.
Bilfil – Allworthy’s nephew
Square – secular atheistic outlook on correct and consistent human behaviour – principles – tom and bilfil’s teacher
Thawackum - – understands everything in strictly religious terms – ideals - tom and bilfil’s teacher
their attempt at winning the attention of Mrs. Blifil is not merely comic. It is true that in this venture, " both Square and Thwackum prove to be foolish while Bridget emerges as a clever manipulator. Still, the episode is too damning for the philosopher as well as the preacher. Can such people fulfil the charge which Mr. Allworthy has given them? In fact, combined with the conspiratorial skills of Blifil, the practice of Square and Thwackum can quite comfortably 'mislead'
Squire Western - father of Sophia, friend to tom, hunt, dine and laugh together, member of the landed gentry, high and mighty section if society A good person, though thoroughly impulsive and unpredictable When Western learns of Tom's various affairs with women, he is pleased no end with his pal's successes. Western is conscious that Tom is of doubtful parentage, a bastard, mixing up with whom may violate the norms of social intercourse. More fundamentally, Squire Westem is full of that raw energy with which Tom himself is abundantly gifted. continues to remain till the end a wild and untamed anima
Sophia - Love interest, idealised version of a woman but when asked to marry bilfil she says she would rather die than marry him. runs away from home with Mrs. honour. e becomes more and more 'real' in this process. self-assessment, discipline
Bridget – biological mother of tom, superior social status, not good-looking, marriage with her can be planned by aspirants such as Captain Blifil, and the senior Blifil. Square and Thwackum, too, consistently try to win favour with her. What is clear is that these four have always hoped to attain money or power through sexually exploiting, Bridget knows it quite well and thinks of using it to further her own ends -a quite 'legitimate' way in the circumstances to use her position as a woman, superior upbringing and education than other women in the novel
Lady Bellaston - planning her affairs cynically with different men on the strength of skills and home-work. sexuality changes into a sick routinized behaviour. actively participating in masquerades re the men and women of the upper stratum of society entertain themselves. When Tom, innocent as he is, is exposed to this atmosphere, he does not see the moral degradation and vacuity underlying it. On her part, Bellaston is struck by the looks of Tom and plans to keep him as her lover. employs clever stratagems to ep Tom away from Sophia and uses her social standing as well as money to ensure that remains firmly in her grip. Insecure in the presence of Sophia, highly individualistic self-centred and mean
Man of the Hill Episode -
https://www.shmoop.com/study-
10-15 is man of the hull.
From the meeting of Tom Jones and Partridge, both travellers, with the Man of the Hill springs in the novel "a very extraordinary adventure," which is not merely in tms of an incident involving robbery and physical attack. It is also Tom's and Partridge's confrontation with a person who went through the highs and lows of life and experienced a great deal of pain. That is how the account of life of the Man of the Hill is "the story of an unhappy man" which Tom and his companion hear with uncommon interest. It is a tale with a beginning when the Man of the Hill was a child and an end when he had after a lapse of a whole active life reached the conclusion that "Man alone, Torn Jones interest. It is a tale with a beginning when the Man of the Hill was a child and an end when he had after a lapse of a whole active life reached the conclusion that "Man alone, the king of this globe, the last and greatest work of the Supreme Being, below the sun; man alone has basely dishonoured his own nature, and by dishonesty, cruelty, ingratitude, and accursed treachery, has called his Maker's goodness in question, by puzzling us to account how a benevolent Being should form so imperfect and so vile an animal" (43 1). It is a long sentence and the Man of the Hill seems to be struggling with words to say something profound. While in this characterisation of human nature, man has been referred to as "the king of the globe" and "the last and greatest work of the Supreme Being," there is the realisation, based on observation and experience, that he is actually "imperfect" and a "vile animal At the time of expressing this view of mankind, the Man of the Hill is an old man and has lived in seclusion for a long time. He remains firm in this belief in spite of the strong argument that Tom presents to him. As we see, only once (when the old man talks to Tom and Partridge), does the old man budge from his decision to keep away from humans and enter into an open exchange of views with a fellow being. Tom, the avid listener in this episode, speaks but little. Tom's comment occurs only at the end of the account. Here, his aim is to comprehend and interpret, in his ovq specific context as a learner, the old man's version of a series of happenings. If we calculate, the old man has talked of events, personal ar social, that took place in the late seventeenth century England. The reader of the novel is supposed to feel one with Tom in this curiosity, honest concern as well as absorption of truth about social life. This seems to be the intention of the author. As Fielding sees it, Tom is the discerning, critical, evolving, error-committing and learning character. The account of the Man of the Hill is a part of Tom's education. An important aspect of the personality of the Man of the Hill is that he has travelled a great deal during his life -from home to Oxford and from there to London and many small towns and villages, as well as the countries of Europe. He shares with Tom Jones this trait of moving around the world in order to seek peace of mind. In fact, there are many more similarities between the character and circumstance of Tom Jones and those of the Man of the Hill. For instance, the Man of the Hill has an unloving mother and an affectionate, well-meaning father. He also has a brother taking to evil ways and becoming a strong adversary to the younger brother, a good and promising lad. The exposure of the Man of the Hill to the environment at Oxford, London and elsewhere reminds us compellingly of the ordeals suffered by Tom during his journey. Both are by temperament good, helpful and generous. If Tom listens intently to the "History" of the Man of the Hill, it is largely on account of these and other similarities. What I mean is that in this sense does the story of the old man become "History," or at least a part of Tom's history. When Tom's attention is disturbed by the queries and silly interventions of Partridge, he (Tom) shows clear annoyance and irritation, not merely because those are acts of discourtesy. There seems to be a great amount of turmoil and churning in the mind of Tom as he listens to the step-by-step progress in the account of the Man of the Hill. From the way Tom and the Man 6f the Hill stike a friendly relationship in the beginning of their meeting, we get the impression that Tom Jones is standing face to face with his own future. In the particular context, the Man of the Hill feels obliged that Tom saved his life when it was under threat from the robbers. This is how the two respond to each other at very moment they begin their conversation which leads to the long account of the life of the Man of the Hill : "
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