Textuality » 4A Interacting
Tom Jones Book 12, chapter 12 - ANALYSIS
The episode deals with two characters, Tom and his servant Partridge, who are going from Somerset to London ; on the way , during a night, they see a far light and they hear some noises.
Partridge immediately thinks there are some ghosts or witches and he tries to convince Tom not to go on; Tom believes the noise is provoked by some people who is merry-making: as a result he approaches them to ask for a road sign. When they arrive over there they realize Tom was right.
As for the setting the events happen on the road between Somerset and London, at night : the part of the day chosen by the novelist is functional to create suspense and to involve and entertain the reader; moreover it is indispensable to present the mismatch of opinions and the different ways in which the characters react in front of something new.
The narrator follows a chronological order, giving a stronger sense of realism, as if he were really observing the events.
His semantic choices leave room to readers' imagination, because they don't provide precise indications (appeared , confused, strange ); the frequent use of humoristic tone entertains the reader who receives some teaching in a pleasant way: the novel has got a didactic aim.
As for Tom, he is rational, courageous, self-made, but also impulsive : after he has sawn the light, even if he has reflected on it in a rational way, he decides to go towards it, without thinking of a possible danger. He is also pragmatic: he behaves to obtain practical advantages (for example a road sign).
He represents a person who likes adventures and is suitable for them and a person who grows up thanks to experiences : a s a matter of fact his intelligence is experiencial.
The narrator is more interested in Partridge's personality and in his reaction in front of the new (the lights); he several times refers to his fear with irony and humour (indeed, to favour a little... music bewitched; a much greater degree of horror), because he wants to ridicule him and to bring out Tom's behaviour : Partridge's words and argumentations are not aimed at persuade the reader. It follows that he affects reader's opinion: they criticize Partridge and appreciate Tom's behaviour, that is they appreciate rationality.
As for Partridge he is characterized through his words, his feelings and his behaviour; he is flat and superstitious: he is afraid of anything new, different from the standard, because he has lived few experiences and he is still connected to superstition. Moreover the use of the verb to pray reveals he still keep a religious mentality
He represents a person who is not suitable for adventures.
The narrator emphasizes his fear through a climax and an hyperbole (no small terror à how fears increased à much greater degree of horror, impossible to conceive); he also uses an allegory (contagion), that refers to illness : it is a very negative connotation to convince readers that superstition, instincts and irrational thoughts are harmful. It follows that Partridge is poor.
The characters embed two ways in which people may face adventures, depending on their personality and , mainly, on the use of rational or irrational faculty.
Fielding demonstrates that rationality is necessary in life: at the end of the episode readers discover that Tom was right, that rationality is valid, it takes to the truth, to the knowledge and to adventures.
Since people at the period like adventures, they side with Tom and they try to be rational like him; Fielding invited contemporary readers not to trust dogmas : he contributed to the abandonment of superstition and of dogmas and to the development of a rational attitude (Enlightenment )
Fielding also uses a lexis belonging to the semantic field of doubt and appearance: existence isn't always perceived in a real, certain or perfectly defined way, on the contrary people often look only at apparent things and can't pass the several illusions in the world, if they don't use rationality and don't look at what is hidden under facades.