Raschio Stefano
&
Pomelli Diana
Tom Jones
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Introduction
Biography (life and works) (chronology)
Plot
Character analysis (personality and relationship)
Commentary (critical analysis)
Conclusions
INTRODUCTION
Henry Fielding's Tom Jones is both one of the great comic masterpieces of English literature and a major force in the
development of the novel form. By 1749, when Tom Jones appeared, the novel was only beginning to be recognized as a
potentially literary form. Fielding was the first major novelist to write fiction without shame. It is a comedy in both senses
of the formal definition: it is amusing and all ends well. What Fielding did establish with Tom Jones, was the role of the
novel as the modern epic form.
Originally entitled The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling, the book tells the story of the title character from infancy
through his marriage to the beautiful and virtuous Sophia Western, the pursuit of whom takes up much of the tale. Along
the way, Fielding relentlessly satirizes the hypocrisy and vanity of most of his supporting cast. He shows that the lusty
rascal Tom is, in fact, an infinitely better human being than the vicious pretenders who surround him and scheme against
him while camouflaged in a thin veneer of artificial virtue. The hero overcomes not only all external plots and obstacles
but, most importantly, his own weaknesses of character, to win both love and fortune.
BIOGRAPHY
22 april 1707 – Fielding was born at Sharpam
1728- He travelled to Leiden to study classic and law at the university
1731 – He wrote “The Roast Beef of Old England”
1734 – He married Charlotte C
1737 – Theatrical Licensing Act
1730-1740 – Satirical articles and newspapers
1741 – He writes novels and his first major success Shamela (parody of Pamela)
1743 – He published a novel in the Miscellanies Volume III. This novel is thought of as his first
1746 – He wrote “The Female Husband”
1749 – He wrote Tom Jones
1754 – He went abroad to Portugal and he died in Lisbon
Works
1728 – Love in several masques
1730 – The Temple beau
1730 – The author’s farce
1730/31 – Tom Thumb the great
1734 – Don Quixote in England
1736 – Pasquin
1737 – Historical register for the year 1736
1740 – Shamela
1742 – The history of the adventure of Joseph Andrews
1743 – Journey from this world to the next ; The history of Mr.Jonathan Wild the Great
1749 – Tom Jones
1751 – Amelia
PLOT
The gentleman Allworthy, who lives in Somersetshire with his unmarried sister Bridget Allworthy, arrives home from a trip
to London to discover a baby boy in his bed. Allworthy undertakes to discover the mother and father of this foundling and
finds local woman Jenny Jones and her tutor, Mr. Partridge, guilty. Allworthy sends Jenny away from the county, and the
poor Partridge leaves of his own accord. Allworthy decides to bring up the boy. Soon after, Bridget marries Captain Blifil, a
visitor at Allworthy's estate, and gives birth to a son of her own, named Blifil. Captain Blifil regards Tom Jones with
jealousy, since he wishes his son to inherit all of Allworthy possessions. But soon Captain Blifil dies .
The narrator skips forward twelve years. Blifil and Tom Jones have been brought up together, but receive vastly different
treatment from the other members of the house. Allworthy is the only person who shows consistent affection for Tom.
Tom spends much time with Squire Western, Allworthy's neighbor. Sophia Western, Squire Western's daughter, falls
deeply in love with Tom. Tom has already conferred his affection on Molly Seagrim, the poor daughter of Black George.
When Molly becomes pregnant, Tom prevents Allworthy from sending Molly to prison by admitting that he has fathered
her child. Tom falls deeply in love with her. Tom's commitment to Molly ends when he discovers that she has been having
affairs, which means Tom is not the father of her child and frees him to confess his feelings to Sophia.
Allworthy falls gravely ill. A lawyer named Dowling arrives and announces the death of Bridget Allworthy. When the doctor
announces that Allworthy will not die, Tom rejoices.
Mrs. Western, the aunt, comes to stay at her brother's house. She and the Squire fight constantly, but they unite over Mrs.
Western's plan to marry Sophia to Blifil. Mrs. Western promises not to reveal Sophia's love for Tom. Sophia strongly
opposes the proposal, and Squire Western grows violent with her. Blifil tells Allworthy that Tom is a rascal and Allworthy
banishes Tom from the county. Tom does not want to leave Sophia, but decides that he must follow the path.
In Bristol, he happens to meet up with Partridge, who becomes his loyal servant. Sophia, who has run away from Squire
Western's estate to avoid marrying Blifil, discovers that Tom is having an affair with Mrs. Waters.
Tom and Partridge arrive in London soon after, and they stay in the house of Mrs. Miller and her daughters, Nancy. Nancy
falls pregnant and Tom convinces Nightingale to marry her. Lady Bellaston and Tom begin an affair, while he continues to
pursue Sophia. When he and Sophia are reconciled, Tom breaks off the relationship with Lady Bellaston. Yet Lady
Bellaston is still determined not to allow Sophia and Tom's love to flourish. She encourages anoter young man, Lord
Fellamar, to rape Sophia.
Soon after, Squire Western, Mrs. Western, Blifil, and Allworthy arrive in London, and Squire Western locks Sophia in her
bedroom. Mr. Fitzpatrick thinks Tom is his wife's lover and begins a duel with Tom. Tom stabs Fitzpatrick with his sword.
Partridge visits Tom in jail with the ghastly news that Mrs. Waters is Jenny Jones, Tom's mother. Mrs. Waters meets with
Allworthy and explains that Fitzpatrick is still alive. She also tells Allworthy that a lawyer acting on behalf of an unnamed
gentleman tried to persuade her to conspire against Tom. Allworthy realizes that Blifil is this gentleman, and he decides
never to speak to him again.
Mrs. Waters also reveals that Tom's mother was Bridget Allworthy. Tom is released from prison. Mrs. Miller explains to
Sophia the reasons for Tom's marriage proposal to Lady Bellaston. Squire Western eagerly encourages the marriage
between Tom and Sophia. Sophia agrees to marry him. They live happily on Western's estate with two children.
CHARACTERS
IMPORTANT CHARACTERS:
SQUIRE ALLWORTHY, a benevolent gentleman of Somersetshire.
BRIDGET ALLWORTHY, his sister; later wife of Capt. Blifil.
TOM JONES, foundling.
DR. BLIFIL, an unsuccessful physician.
CAPTAIN BLIFIL, his brother.
BLIFIL, son of Captain and Mrs. Bridget Blifil.
MOLLY SEAGRIM, daughter of Black George.
SECONDARY CHARACTERS:
PARTRIDGE, schoolmaster; later called “Little Benjamin.”
MRS. PARTRIDGE, his wife.
GEORGE SEAGRIM, gamekeeper, commonly called “Black George.”
ROGER THWACKUM, tutor to Master Jones and Master Blifil.
THOMAS SQUARE, a parson.
MRS. DEBORAH WILKINS, servant in Allworthy’s house.
JENNY JONES, maid servant; later known as Mrs. Waters.
MISS SOPHIA WESTERN, his daughter.
SQUIRE WESTERN.
MRS. WESTERN, his sister.
MRS. SEAGRIM, her mother.
EXTRAS:
MR. SUPPLE, a curate. MRS. HONOUR, maid to Sophia Western. ENSIGN NORTHERTON. ENSIGN ADDERLY. WHITFIELD
and MRS. WHITFIELD, host and hostess of the Bell at Gloucester.
DOWLING, an attorney of Salisbury. The Man of the Hill. The Landlord and Landlady at Upton.
SUSAN, their maid. MR. FITZPATRICK MR. MACLACHLAN Irish Gentlemen. MRS. FITZPATRICK, niece of Squire Western.
An Irish Peer. LADY BELLASTON. A Puppet Showman. A Merry Andrew.
GRACE, a chambermaid. The King of the Gypsies. MR. ANDERSON, an amateur highwayman. MRS. ETOFF, maid to Lady
Bellaston. MRS. MILLER, a clergyman’s widow. NANCY and BETTY, her daughters. MR. J. NIGHTINGALE, her lodger. MR.
NIGHTINGALE, his father. MR. NIGHTINGALE, his uncle.
Tom Jones: Jones’s character is presented in the novel as a youngster up until he marries Sophia. The reader is able to
follow Jones’s maturation throughout the story. Tom’s character is constantly showing the philosophy of carpe diem. Tom
shows as if he is only capable of thinking what he is doing at the moment and not what the consequences might be in the
future. His actions are backed up by his impulses at the time rather than by analysis. A perfect example of these impulses
is when he without hesitation goes to bed with Molly Seagrim, Mrs. Waters, and Lady Bellaston while being deeply in love
with Sophie. Jones’s line of thought is very unpredictable because he can go from deciding to join the army or go to sea as
the solution to his problems and suddenly change his plans from one moment to the next. Jones’s direct line of thought
and concern for the welfare of others brings out the exemplary characteristic that the reader should mostly admire about
Tom. He never gives much thought on why he should help the person, he just impulsively helps everyone, this being at the
cost of his own welfare. It is Tom’s own carelessness and naïve attitude that brings him all of the problems he faces
through the novel. His constant concern for the present does not let him see the consequences of his immediate actions.
Though he brings on himself his own misery, he eventually recognizes that his actions, especially his affairs with two
middle-aged women and one that might even be his mother, lead him to realize that what he was doing was wrong and
from there on he decides to stop this behavior. From this point on, the reader sees how Tom is able to acknowledge the
importance of analyzing his actions before doing them out of impulse and by the end of the novel he is able to practice
prudence and reflection.
Blifil: Bifil is the complete opposite of Jones’s character. Blifil does not think of someone else’s welfare. He is always
thinking what can he gain from a situation. He is obsessed with the future; all of his actions are based on eventually
getting the most amount of Allworthy’s estate. By the end of the novel, Blifil unlike Jones has not learnt anything; on the
contrary, all he did was to corrupt his values to an even futher extent.
Squire Allworthy: Allworthy is supposed to be correct all the time, hence his last name, but his actions as the novel
progresses question his decision-making process and his better judgment of what is right and what is wrong. He makes his
conclusions on Jones’s actions not by reasoning and analyzing the situation at hand but instead he makes his decisions
following what he understands to be right or wrong. Allworthy at the end of the novel admits that his decisions to reason
the way he did and judge Jones the way he did, were wrong.
Sophia: Sophia is the essence of womanhood in the novel. She is very honest and obedient but she also has a sense of
independence towards her father’s wishes. After she and Tom are lovers, she is willing to go against her father’s order to
stay and marry Blifil and she leaves home to go and find Jones. Although Sophia is very honest and loving, she does not
think like Jones. She is not dedicated like Jones. She puts her personal interest before the welfare of others.
Squire Western: Western like Tom is a very energetic and lively character. He is also a very closed and obstinate man,
once he believes in one idea, there is no one who can change his mind.
Thwankum and Square: Both these characters teach and live in Allworthy’s estate for the economic advantages. Their
intentions are clear because they favor Blifil over Tom. Even though they are both religious men, money comes before
their beliefs.
COMMENTARY
A Comic Epic Poem in Prose
The plot of Tom Jones is not only famous for its intricacy, it is also highly symmetrical in design. The novel has eighteen
books, six for the beginning, six for the middle, and six for the end. The first six books give the cause of the action: Tom's
open, sensual nature; the conflict with Blifil; the misunderstanding with Squire Allworthy; Tom's love for Sophia and their
separation. The next six contain both the consequences of the first six and the incidents and details which will bring about
a resolution. The last six books plunge Tom into disastrous circumstances through his actions and get him out of them
again. When he is in prison about to be hanged, he hears that Sophia has refused to speak to or see him again as a result
of his affair with Lady Bellaston. As if this were not enough, he even has to face the possibility that he might have
committed incest. But it is this last misfortune which also brings about his change of fortune: it is through Jenny Jones,
Tom's purported mother who is now known as Mrs. Waters, that the truth of Tom's birth emerges.
Tom Jones contains many conventional narrative elements as well which Fielding had already made use of in Joseph
Andrews, including an ostensibly picaresque form, inserted narrative and the discovery of true identity. But while the
character Joseph, with his origins in parody, suffers from an element of the ridiculous, Tom emerges as a deeper character
who even goes through a certain amount of superficial moral development. Tom Jones exemplifies serious aspects of
Fielding's concept of benevolence and good nature, his generous personality reflecting Fielding's moral philosophy. At the
same time, it is from his impulsive and affectionate nature that many of his troubles spring. He is contrasted to the
hypocrite Blifil, his opposite and, as it turns out, his half-brother. Fielding frequently uses this method of contrasting pairs
to manage his huge cast of characters: Tom is opposed to Blifil, Sophia to Molly and later Lady Bellaston, and Allworthy to
Squire Western. The same technique is used with the minor characters: the tutors of Tom and Blifil are Thwackum,
representing blind respect for authority, and Square, representing abstract ethics.
The most original and memorable element of Tom Jones, however, is the narrative voice informing the action and
discoursing on the philosophy of writing to the reader in the introductory chapters. Fielding controls the reader's response
thorough the tolerant presence of the figure of the omniscient author. The narrative voice accounts for various comic
effects Fielding achieves in this remarkable novel; it is often the detached description which transforms a melodramatic
situation into a comic one.
THEMES
The history
Tom Jones is considered one of the first prose works describable as a novel. The novel is divided into 18 smaller books.
Tom Jones is a foundling discovered on the property of a very kind, wealthy landowner, Squire Allworthy. Tom grows into
a vigorous and lusty, yet honest and kind-hearted, youth. He develops affection for his neighbor's daughter, Sophia
Western. On one hand, their love reflects the romantic comedy genre popular in 18th-century Britain. However, Tom's
status as a bastard causes Sophia's father and Allworthy to oppose their love; this criticism of class friction in society acted
as a biting social commentary. The inclusion of prostitution and sexual promiscuity in the plot was also original for its time,
and also acted as the foundation for criticism of the book's "lowness."
Virtue as action rather than thought
Fielding contrasts the concept of Virtue espoused by characters like Square and Thwackum with the Virtue actually
practiced by Jones and Allworthy. Tom is the embodiment of the very active type of Virtue that Fielding respects.
The impossibility of stereotypical categorization
Fielding's novel attempts to break down numerous limits. In terms of genre, Fielding can't decide whether his novel is a
"philosophical History," a "Romance," or an "epi-comic prosaic poem." Fielding suggests that cataloguing fiction is silly,
and that he would rather think of himself as "the founder of a new Province of Writing."
In another example of broken stereotypes, Fielding's characters can't be distinguished by "masculine" or "feminine" traits:
in this novel both men and women fight and cry.
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
novel. For example, he often closes chapters by hinting to the reader what is to follow in the next chapter, or he warns the
reader that 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.
Travel
Where the narrator opens the novel with a reference to food, he concludes the novel with a reference to travel, casting
himself as the reader's man traveler. This represents the climax of a travel motif throughout the novel. As the characters
journey from the country to the city, the narrator includes himself as a fellow traveler, remarking that he will not trudge
through the journey, but will hurry and slow down as he pleases.
The Law
The narrator infuses his language with legal terms. For example, after a petty domestic argument with Squire Western,
Mrs. Western refers to their reconciliation as the signing of a "treaty." Such examples reveal the narrator's technique of
hyperbole—he uses technical language to build up 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 lawyer
Dowling plays a large part in the plot against Tom.
The Stage
It is noteworthy that Fielding constantly alludes to the theatre, since his novel is in some ways more "dramatic" than it is
"literary." The motif of the stage reminds one that Fielding thinks of his characters as "actors." All the same, the fact that
Fielding refuses to provide detailed visual descriptions of his characters slightly undermines his theatrical motif. Clearly, he
wishes to vacillate between the visual world of the dramatic and the written word of the prose novel.
Conclusion
The story of Tom Jones is complicated with so many episodes and so many characters.
We love the story because it is interesting and compelling.
The various events between the characters are intriguing and made us realize just how special the novels of Henry Fielding
are.
Henry Fielding is very good at writing in the third person for the first time in English literature.
The complexity of the plot and so many characters that appear are a very important feature in the novel.