ignou MA English

What do you understand by the phase “fiction” as “history” in Tom Jones?

Shabnam HaiderLeave a comment

Fiction as history refers to that time in which the story developed. Fiction or fictional has come to acquire such strong affinities with the novel that is used by author two synonymously, that simply means character in a novel symbolize specific attitudes in a given society and the writer conveys through them those significant impression which she or he has gathered from the surrounding. During the time of narrator, there was tendency for young women who come to disgrace and become pregnant prior to marriage and leave their babies to a landlord in rich family.

Characters and social impressions merge into each other and the end -product strongly binds us to the represented action. But the writer does not merely gather impression from life. What happens is that impressions precede character and are in fact moulded and re -made into character by the author. All these are truly fictional- moulding and remaking imply that the author’s imagination has been at work in an intense manner, this is not only but there is also a plausible life like situation that the writer is supposed to invent. This means that the characters in the story cannot be constructed and rendered flesh and blood unless they are placed in identifiable circumstances of our own world.

The character in a work of fiction become our links with the period in which the writer has lived and stand for those actual trends that existed at that time. For instance; Allworthy, Western, Jones and Blifil in Tom Jones present the development of 18th century English society, the society of a period become a necessary component of fiction and fiction becomes significant history. That is how the line between the imaginative and the real gets blurred and history intrudes inevitably into fiction.

Around the 18th century in England, history becomes a matter of vital internet for the common writers who set out to do justice to it by focusing upon the behavior and problems of ordinary men and women.

However, the novel is different from history in one important respect, the novel begins at a particular point of life in society as well as ends at another point. Those two points in the novel recognized and chosen by the author are extremely significant because between them the segment of social life lies. It is a significant difference between history, the life of actual people at a given time and a literary work.

Therefore, the writer’s intentions of writing this novel could be indefinitely deferred or the idea altogether discarded. On its writing starting from the idea of the of the fictional piece, the author gives it slant and direction.

Therefore, the novel Tom Jones is written and published by Henry Fielding, Tom Jones the protagonist a young boy who plays the significantly important role in describing English society of 18th century England.

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Character sketch of Squire Allworthy from the novel Tom Jones

Shabnam HaiderLeave a comment

Squire Allworthy:- A wealthy kind- hearted widower, who acts as a surrogate father to the foundling in the novel. Squire Allworthy lives with his unmarried sister Bridget on a fine estate called ‘Paradise Hall‘ in Somerset, England. Allworthy has a tragic past as his beloved wife had died some years before and he decided to never marry.

The novel begins with the question arising Being a wealthy person why he doesn’t have any inheritance. When Squire Allworthy returns from a long business trip he finds a baby on his bed, question arises that whether this child will fill the gap in both squire Allworthy’s heart and in his last will and testament.

Squire Allworthy is a noble character, when he found the child and decided to raise him. He decided to care for the child as his own, he even gives the child his own first name Thomas, even though he believed him as illegitimate child of his servant Jenny Jones and schoolmaster Mr. Partridge. Squire Allworthy is the kind person in his neighborhood, not only he owns a large estate (paradise Hall) but he is a local judge and general authority figure of the villagers on his lands.

Therefore, it is a huge responsibility for anybody to take on even though it is pretty bad for his reputation, which is a sign that he actually wants to do the right things in spite of what the local gossips may whisper about him.

Thus, everything about Squire Allworthy’s Characterization in the novel Tom Jones emphasizes his positive traits, he is always offering good advice. His name is “Allworthy” or “worthy of all” He is very generous with his money and does his best to help the poor and disadvantaged.

The narrator even says that Squire Allworthy has an agreeable person, a sound constitution, a solid understanding and a benevolent heart. In other words, he is good looking, healthy, smart and kind.

With the kind personality, Allworthy has few drawbacks which makes him as a fool, there are several examples in novel that proof his foolishness like; the way he treats Master Bilfil even though he was very much aware that Bilfil disliked by his own mother (Bridget), it simply proofs that Squire Allworthy isn’t always a great judge of characters. Therefore, it is so clear that he sympathizes Bilfil. Yet we can say that Allworthy’s motivations are good but his judgments are terrible.

Since, Allworthy always insist on seeing best in people, he sometimes misses the glaring warning chance like Bilfil’s hypocrisy and cruelty that they don’t deserve his trust. Bilfil even trap Tom and make Allworthy throw him out of the house.

Eventually, Squire Allworthy could be a good man but annoyingly he is vulnerable to con men.

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