Ironies In Tom Jones

This is a thesis discussing the ironies in the fiction of The History oj Tom Jones: A Foundling, written by Henry Fielding (1707 - 54). A careful reader may find ironies in the text of the fiction, which are used as artistic techniques. The ironies act as a chain to gear up the form and the content of the novel artistically. In this thesis, a brief review of the evolution of the concept of irony is prefaced in Chapter 1, and a general discussion is made on Fielding's artistic methods and characteristics in the application of irony. On the basis of that, the author of the thesis first devotes to find out the various ironies as artistic techniques in Tom Jones, and then tries to show what functions, purposes, values and significance these ironies have. Chapter 2 and 3 conducts a study of ironies in the plot structure and characterization, demonstrating how they perform a remarkable artistic function in the context Chapter 2, in the light of the Reader-Response theory, analyzes the typical plot structure of the novel in detail, with the conclusion that the reader's active role helps complete an integral interpretation of the ironical effects on the part of the novel's plot. Chapter 3 offers a discussion of characterization, in which Henry Fielding depicts a group of protagonists with ironical touches so as to establish his social satirical intentions By means of this, in Chapter 4 he purports to expose a variety of moral defects in the 18l century English society. His bitter satire is obviously placed in the center of ironies in all these aspects. In Chapter 5, the characteristics of solidity and reality in the ironies in Tom Jones are analyzed, and the Fielding's methods in constructing his ironies are explored.