Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- In our section on "Narrator Point of View," we mentioned that Tom Jones appears from the perspective of a first-person narrator who doesn't take part in the main events of the book. The fact that this narrator is watching and not acting gives him distance and objectivity to observe (and laugh at) the events of the novel. How would Tom Jones be different if it were told from the perspective of someone participating in the novel's plot?
- Obviously, Mr. Blifil is a bad guy who plans evil things. But the narrator and all of the characters in the novel hate him so much that we kind of feel bad for him. It must be awful to be kicked out of your comfortable house and told that you will never see your family again. Would you read a book from the point of view of Mr. Blifil?
- The introductory chapters of each book tell us a lot about Fielding's intentions in writing Tom Jones. But could we figure out what Fielding is trying to do without those introductory chapters? How much of the satire of the novel depends on these explanatory chapters?
- Tom's marriage to Sophia is a love match, but it's also good financial and business sense. It's lucky that Tom happens to fall in love with someone so likely to improve his social and financial position. What might have happened to Tom if he hadn't held out for marriage with Sophia?
- We talked about the "picaresque" as a novel form in our section on "Genre." Since the whole point of the picaresque is that its central character wanders around having random adventures, these novels tend to include lots of smaller episodes in addition to a big overall plot. Are there sections of the book that seem out of place or random in relation to the larger plot? Are there any parts to this book that you think it would be possible to skip altogether? Why or why not?