Tom Jones Fielding
Tom Jones Fielding
What are the key themes/issues in Tom Jones by Henry Fielding?
i'm not asking you to give me answers - i'm not like that - all i want to know is what to take notes on, and what is important to the book...
it's not homework either
Fielding's novel gives us a panoramic view of 18th century British life. Its eponymous hero journeys among the low- and high-born trying to find his way in a world in which he occupies a precarious position. Fielding uses the sprawl of 800 pages to explore a multitude of social, political, and literary issues, glueing them together with an exquisitely outlandish, fully embodied sense of humour.
The action of the novel begins with a view of the Allworthy family, a landed gentleman, Thomas Allworthy and his sister, Bridget. Into this family is dropped an orphan, a foundling - a child, if you will, of questionable parentage. This child, Tom Jones, is raised alongside Bridget's child, Blifil, as relative equals. Both are tutored by two ideologues, the philosopher Square and the theologian Thwackum. Jones is a precocious, free-spirited youngster, spoiled by Allworthy while Blifil, the heir apparent to the estate, becomes the favourite pupil and spoiled accordingly by his mother. As the two youths age, Tom develops a fondness for the neighbour's daughter, Sophia Western.
Tom's sexual development begins to get him in trouble, as it tends to throughout the novel, and as a result of one such incident, coupled with the goading jealousy of Blifil, Tom is driven out of the Allworthy home, left to seek his fortunes in the world. Meeting his supposed father, Partridge, on the road, the two begin a quixotic ramble across England. Sophia, meanwhile, pressured into marrying Blifil, runs away from home, beginning her own voyage of discovery.
"Tom Jones" begins with the narrator likening literature to a meal, in which the paying customer comes expecting to be entertained and satisfied. All 18 books of "Tom Jones" start out with such authorial intrusions, each cluing us into the writer's craft, his interactions with his public, and various other topics. This voice is actually sustained throughout the novel, providing a supposedly impartial centre of moral value judgments - each of which seems to tend toward enforce Fielding's project of a realistic, and yet, didactic portrayal of a world full of flawed characters.
Some of the issues the novel deals most extensively with are modes of exchange, anxieties over female agency, and the power of rumour and reputation. Exchange and the ways in which value is figured include a wide range of goods - money, bodies, food, and stories - and are integral to the story. The treatment of women is a great concern in "Tom Jones": from Partridge's perpetual fear of witchcraft to the raging arguments between Squire Western and his sister over how Sophia should be treated, to general concerns about sexuality and virtue. A novel that can be in turns hilarious, disturbing, and provoking, "Tom Jones" is never dull. Despite its size, the pace of the novel is extremely fast and lively.
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 HENRY FIELDINGs Works 1824 Gilded LEATHER Tom Jones  US $1,800.00
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 1782 4 Vols History of TOM JONES by Henry FIELDING Calf US $1,150.00
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 1749 Tom Jones Henry Fielding First Edition Vol 1 3 US $899.95
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 1806 The WORKS Of HENRY FIELDING 10v Leather TOM JONES US $795.00
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 History Of Tom Jones Henry Fielding 1749 First Four Volume Edition US $703.10
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 History of Tom Jones Henry Fielding 1797 leather US $450.00
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 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES A FOUNDLING Henry Fielding 3 Vol Leather Set 1776 US $299.00
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 Henry Fielding Works 12 Volumes Tom Jones 1903 US $220.00
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 The History of Tom Jones A Foundling by Henry Fielding Pub C Cooke 1792 US $209.98
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 Fielding Henry THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES 1st US $175.00
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 HISTORY OF TOM JONES Henry Fielding ANTIQUE 4 Vol Set US $165.00
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 Rare 1903 First Edition 12 Volume Set THE WORKS OF HENRY FIELDING Tom Jones US $149.99
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 tom jones henry fielding 1931 1st 1st first HCDJ VG US $112.50
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 The History of Tom Jones by Henry Fielding 1930 US $95.00
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 THE HISTORY OF TOM JONES by Henry Fielding 1900 US $89.99
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 Tom Jones Henry Fielding Limited Editions Club SIGNED Illustrated 1952 US $89.99
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 HISTORY of TOM JONES a Foundling Henry Fielding Leather Bound 1810 Vol 2 GC US $85.00
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 The History of Tom Jones A Foundling 1926 H Fielding US $85.00
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 Tom Jones 1876 Henry Fielding 2 volumes illustrated US $84.95
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 FOLIO SOCIETY Henry Fielding 4 Vol Set 1995 Tom Jones Joseph Andrews US $75.05
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 The History of Tom Jones A Foundling Henry Fielding V US $75.05
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 1984 Oxford Franklin Leather Book Tom Jones H Fielding US $71.08
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 The History of Tom Jones Fielding Henry Very Good Bo US $70.42
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 Henry Fielding 4 Vols Tom Jones Amelia Jonathan Wild US $68.13
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 FOLIO SOCIETY Novels of Henry Fielding 4 VOLUME BOX SET Tom Jones OOP VERY RARE US $64.99
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 TOM JONES BY HENRY FIELDING EASTON PRESS LEATHER V FINE US $64.99
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The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling - BBC (1997)
