Overview of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

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Name:- Kailash P. Baraiya

Subject: The Neo - Classical literature (paper -2)

Topic: - Overview of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

Roll No: 17

Std: M.A, Sem-1, Year -2016

Submitted To: Department of English

M K Bhavnagar University

 Introduction:-

 

The History of Tom Jones, a foundling often known simply as Tom Jones is a Comic novel by the English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. The novel is both Bildungsroman and a picaresque novel. Themes of the novel is virtue as action rather than thought the impossibility of stereotypical categorization, the tension between art and Artifice.

Title:-

The short tittle of this novel is ‘Tom Jone’ which is also the name of our hero. This title equals main character's name equation was a big thing back when Fielding was writing. But the formal long tittle of this book is actually the history of Tom Jones is foundling and two word [history and founding'- are worth thinking about fielding admits that Tom Jones might not technically be a history, since the character are not real people and there is mop rood any of the events in this book actually happened. Theme there is the word foundling a founding is an abandoned child with unknown parents.

Themes:-

One of the central themes in tom Jones deals with the conflict between authority and individual choice in matters of love and marriage other themes like also there liked virtue as fiction rather than thought the impossibility of stereotypical categorization the tension between art and artifice etc.

1. Virtue as action rather than thought

Henry Fielding contrasts the concept of virtue espoused like Squire and Thwackum with the virtue actually practiced by Jones and Allworthy. Tom as the active hero who saves damsels in distress and plans on fighting for his country, is the embodiment of the very active type of virtue that fielding esteems.

2. The impossibility of stereotypical categorization

Henry Fielding’s novel attempts to break down numerous bounders. In decide whether his novel is a philosophical history a romance or an 'Epi-Comic prosaic poem'. Yet though these confounded musings fielding subtly suggests that cataloging fiction is silly and that “The founder of a new province of writing”.

In another example of broken stereotypes fielding characters, cannot be distinguished by masculine or feminine traits in this novel both men and women fight and cry.

3. The tension between art and artifice

Although the narrator upholds the value of natural art in his characters he uses artifice himself in the construction of his navel for example. he often closes chapters by hinting to the reader what is to follow in the next chapter or he warns the he is going to omit a scene in such a way he prevents us from suspending our disbelief and giving ourselves up to the art of the narrative instead fielding constantly entices us to reflect on and review the process of construction.

• Plot :-

Tom Jones abandoned as a baby is mysterious circumstances is brought up by square Allworthy. Resented by Allworthy’s light mate heir Blifil, Tom grows into an amiable rascal fond of the fair an sex he loves squire squire Western’s daughter Sophia Western but when discovered by us tutors with a local girl Molly, he is banished by benefactor after numerous adventures he reaches London and embark on affair with the wealthy Lady Bellaston while Squire Western's sister has arranged a marriage between Sophia and baleful homicide Sophia escapes to London meeting up with her cousin Mrs. Fitzpatrick who is also running away from her husband Mr. Fitzpatrick follows them and suspects tom of having seduced his runaway wife.

• Characterization

Characterization is the process by which a writer reveals the personality of the characters. It is an important element in almost every work of fiction or novel 'Tom Jones' Fielding imperfect and mortal hero is the character through whom fielding imperfect and mortal hero is the character through whom fielding gives voice to his philosophy of virtue in contrast to the moral philosophy of fielding in contrast to the moral philosophy of fielding ‘s contemporaries fielding does not suggest that tom’s affairs with molly Seagram. Mrs. Waters and Lady Ballaston should reflect badly on character rather keeping with the romantic genre fielding seems to admire tom’s adherence to the principles of gallantry, which require that a man return the interest of a woman.

Tom’s character is constantly showing the philosophy of 'Carpe diem' Tom shows as if he is only capable of doing at the moment and not what the consequences might be in the future. A perfect example of these impulse is when he without situation water and lady Ballaston while being deeply in love with Sophia in this way fielding shows us both good and bad sides of his character we can say that Tom Jones belongs to that class of novels which aim at presenting by a multitude of characters and a complete picture of human life so it would be right to say that fielding portrays in Tom Jones not men the but manners not individuals but the human species

• Main conflict:-

The main conflict is Tom Jones as the forces he must overcome to reunite with Sophia and become a responsible young adult. These forces include the people attempting the forces inside the people attempting the forces inside tom himself such as his reckless and lustful bearer that he must master to win Sophia and become an upstanding young man.

Symbols:-

Sophia’s muff

Sophia’s muff stands in for her in stations when Sophia can not physically be present herself this is made evident by the fact that she attaches her name to the muff before leaving it in Jones bed at Upton. Since both Jones and Sophia kiss the muff it allows them to achieve a closeness despite their physical distance.

Motifs:-

Food

The narrator invokes the motif of food in relation to the process of reading love, and war. He begins the novel by referring to himself as a restaurateur who will provide the reader with a feast he later defines lust as a person appetite for a good chunk of white flesh.

Travel

where the narrator opens the novel with a novel with a reference to food, he Concludes the novel with a reference travel casting himself as the reader’s fellow traveler this represent the culmination of a travel motif throughout the navel as the characters journey from the county to the city the narrator includes himself as a fellow traveler remarking that he will not plod through the journey but will hasten and slow down as he pleases.

The law

The narrator infuses his language and the speech of his characters with legal terms. For example after a petty domestic argument with square western Mrs. Western refers to their reconciliation as the signing of a treaty such examples reveal the narrator technique of buildup events that are actually irrelevant however there are also cases in which the narrator’s legal motif is genuine as both Allworthy and western are justices of the peace and the western are justices of the peace and the lawyer Dowlling plays large part in the plot against Tom.

Structure and setting :-

Henry fielding presented the novel in their main sections with action taking place in the first half of the 18^th century. The first section centers on life in the country of the estates of squire western and Allworthy in Somerset-shire in southwestern England. In this section the protagonist Tom Jones grows from infant foundling into a teenager who falls in love with the beautiful daughter of squire western.

The second part of the navel takes place along roads, at inns and in other locales in the middle and late 1740s. In this section the protagonist experiences many episodic adventures involving a diverse cast of characters that include a women in distress soldiers on the march, gypsies' untrustworthy lawyers puppeteers, women admires of the title character, and an impoverished robber.

The action in the third part takes place mainly in London, where the title character searcher for his beloved fights a clued has encounters with a possessive seductress goes to jail gains his freedom and reunites with a possessive seductress goes to jail gains his freedom, and reunites with his beloved this section ends when the principal characters return to Someraetshire.

Tone

The ton is playful and right hearted.

Point of view:-

When telling the story. The narrator generally uses third person omniscient point of view enabling his to reveals the thoughts of the characters when commenting on the story. The narrator uses first person point of view sometimes in the singular and sometimes in the plural.

Sum up

Fielding was a winter of the theater before he strongest impressions that the realer gets from 'Tom Jones' is that of dramatic handling of science and act: the sharp silhouetting of characters and there grouping in such a manes as to avoid any Confusions even in so populous drama. Tom Jones is rightly regarded as Fielding's greatest work and one of the first and most influential of English novels. At the center of one of the most ingenious plots in English fiction stands a hero whose actions were in 1749, as shocking as they are funny today.

SOURCE : NET AND TEXT