Tom Jones 435the perspective of one or two characters. Rather, the
reader must untangle a narrative presented by four
narrators, each with a unique, limited viewpoint.
Quentin’s interior monologue, with its stream-of-
consciousness ramblings and time shifts, reflects
the chaos and uncertainty he encounters in a world
where order and tradition, which gave life meaning
and significance, seem to have evaporated.
The theme of the demise of tradition in the Old
South undergirds Faulkner’s novel. For Quentin and
Jason, this loss means a disappearance of traditional
family and community values. For Luster, it means
the chance to lead a better life than his forebears,
and perhaps the opportunity to establish new tradi-
tions. The Sound and the Fury illustrates, in plot and
in its narrative style, that old practices are inevitably
replaced—whether those changes are welcome or
not.
Elizabeth Cornell
FiELDing, HEnry Tom Jones (1749)
Tom Jones, seldom called by its full name, The His-
tory of Tom Jones, A Foundling, is one of the earliest
examples of the English novel. Its realistic style and
foregrounding of specific times and places sets it,
as well as contemporaneous novels such as Defoe’s
Robinson CRusoe and Moll FlandeRs, Behn’s
oRoonoko, and Richardson’s Clarissa, apart from
the romances and prose poems that came before
them. The novel was a new way of looking at the
world that emphasized realism and experience in an
unprecedented way.
Divided into 18 smaller books, Tom Jones begins
with the discovery of the orphaned infant Tom
on the property of the wealthy and compassion-
ate Squire Allworthy. Allworthy raises Tom as his
ward, alongside the squire’s nephew Blifil. Tom is a
handsome, passionate, impulsive young man, who,
although he is kind and means well toward those for
whom he cares, has a hard time keeping his passions
in check. He loves Sophia Western, the daughter of
his neighbor, but they cannot marry because of his
inauspicious birth. Ultimately, a marriage is planned
between Sophia and Blifil, and as a result of Blifil’s
trickery, Tom is banished from the squire’s home. He
wanders around, attempting to make his own way in
the world, but frequently falls prey to those less hon-
est and kind than he is. In the end, it is discovered
that Tom is actually the son of the squire’s sister,
and thus his rightful heir, so he and Sophia can, and
do, marry after all. The novel highlights themes of
social class, justice, and heroism.
Jennifer McClinton-TempleheroiSm in Tom Jones
In the early chapters of Tom Jones, we are introduced
to Tom as a child and we see all of his good and
bad qualities. The narrator’s description does not
prepare the reader for a typical hero. He describes
the boy as “having from his earliest years discovered
a propensity to many vices.” Also, “he was indeed a
thoughtless, giddy youth, with little sobriety in his
manners and less in his countenance.” The narrator’s
view of Tom influences our own, of course, and we
are prepared for Tom’s mistakes and follies through-
out the novel. The narrator continues reminding
the readers that Tom is not someone from whom
we should expect great things: “it was the universal
opinion of all Mr. Allworthy’s family, that he was
certainly born to be hanged.” This hero’s story has
an inauspicious start.
But Tom is a traditional hero in many ways. He
is tall, well dressed, “one of the handsomest young
fellows in the world.” In action, he is strong, able-
bodied, and brave, while also polite and gentle. As a
child, he saves Sophia’s bird, protects the gamekeeper
from being fired, and does everything he can—even
robbery—to support Black George’s family. As an
adult, he fights highwaymen and protects women.
Tom has several exceptional qualities.
What makes Tom an interesting and contradic-
tory hero is that his good qualities are offset by bad
ones. Tom is reckless, impulsive, naïve, and lustful.
He often acts without thinking, and sometimes
his actions cause others harm. At 14, he sells his
own possessions to help the Seagrims, though he
hurts Squire Allworthy in doing so. In addition, he
lacks a full respect for his masters, is careless with
money, and is almost executed for murdering Mr.
Fitzpatrick. But his most pronounced weakness is
his fondness for women. Even though it is clear
he truly loves Sophia, he has sex with three other
women. Tom’s questionable relations with women