"The food prepared here for the reader is nothing but human nature."
--Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding was the most prominent English novelist and dramatist of the 18th century. One of the greatest exponents of the 18th-century British Enlightenment, he was the first Writer in England to engage in the creation of a complete theory of the novel, and was called "the father of the English novel" by Walter Scott.
The History of The Abandoned Tom Jones is Henry Fielding's signature work. In terms of the breadth and depth of reality it reflects, this work can be called the prose epic of British 18th-century society.
The History of the Abandoned Tom Jones tells the story of the illegitimate son Tom Jones, who was adopted by the squire Olvassui after birth, framed by the villain Blifi, misunderstood by his adoptive father, expelled from the house, and separated from his lover Sophia. Sophia hates the arranged marriage of the elders, and does not hesitate to abandon the family to run away, this pair of lovers have experienced hardships and temptations, bitter and willing, tom Jones's mystery of the truth is revealed, regain the grace of Orva Sui, and form a family with Sophia, forever happy.
In the novel, Phildine portrays no less than fifty characters from landlords, nobles, peasants, innkeepers, jianghu langzhong, soldiers, hooligans, etc., forming a variety of character galleries. As Phildine mentions in the novel's opening remarks:
The food prepared here for the reader is nothing but human nature. Similarly, the knowledgeable reader will not fail to realize that there is also a kaleidoscope under the general name "human nature.".
Phildine is worthy of the master of cooking, "The History of The Abandoned Tom Jones" reveals the secrets of the human heart for us, through the kaleidoscope of human nature, let us appreciate the variety of sentient beings, the taste is endless; peel off all kinds of coats to understand human nature, compared with real life, quite instructive.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the beginning of man, is sex inherently evil or inherently good? Is it the external environment that affects the person, or does the person himself play the decisive factor? </h1>
Tom and Briffy are half-brothers who grew up together in the countryside, and their uncle Olvasui selected two private school teachers to nurture them. He loved his two children, thick and thin, as if he were his own. Tom was an illegitimate child, and illegitimate children were highly condemned in British society at the time, and the kind squire Olvasui adopted an abandoned child without knowing Tom's origins, and did everything in his power to protect him to thrive, and Tom was undoubtedly lucky.
Tom grew up compassionate and willing to help people, and he never stood idly by in response to other people's disasters. He could not bear to sit idly by and watch Black George's wife and children be hungry and cold, and sold the pony given to him by his adoptive father at the market to support black George's family. In keeping his promise, Tom would rather be whipped himself than betray his friends.
Tom's selfless qualities are fully expressed in his love for Sophia. When he saw the girl break up with her family and suffer for his sake, Tom was willing to give up his love for Sophia's sake.
Bu Lifei is old and old, gloomy and sneaky, and always has a small calculation in his stomach. He was very sophisticated, pretending to be respectful to his uncle, but he did not love anyone in the world but himself. When Olvassui was critically ill, Boulifei was only concerned with the property that had been given to him in his will. What is particularly disgusting is that, despite the advice of the doctor, he insisted on reporting the bad news of his mother's death when his uncle was critically ill, and also said with great vigour that "there can be no concealment from his uncle"—but the words about Tom's life have been hidden because they are unfavorable to him.
Brifia, a villain, sometimes does bad things only to satisfy his narrow-minded sense of revenge. He later pursues half of Sophia in revenge for her affection for Tom.
Phildine portrays the group of characters to Tom and Bliffy through the contrast between beauty and ugliness, their growth environment and upbringing are similar, but the moral character of the two is very different, one is "good" from instinct, one is "evil" from instinct, at the beginning of man, is it inherently evil in nature, or is it inherently good in nature? Perhaps Phildine does not have an accurate answer in his heart, but man's instinct for good and evil has nothing to do with his origins. Phildine wants to tell us through the mouth of the "man in the mountains" he has created:
Of all things under the sun, there is only man, the Lord of the earth, the greatest work that the supreme God has finally created; and only man has despicablely corrupted his own nature. With his deception, cruelty, ingratitude, and betrayal, He called into question the mercy of the Creator: he could not explain why a merciful God could have created such a foolish and despicable animal!
The brothers Tom and Bullifer reminded me of Jia Baoyu and Jia Huan in "Dream of the Red Chamber", they are also brothers, but one is a concubine, the other is a concubine, and the character of the two is very different.
Baoyu has Buddha-nature, and he never cares about how others treat him as a human being, only how he treats others well. Jia Huan's character sketches can be described as inferior.
Baoyu and Jia Huan contrast strongly with human nature, and explore the process of their growth, which has to be thought-provoking!
Baoyu was born, handsome in appearance, talented and intelligent, deeply loved by the jia family, the old ancestor Jia mother and the birth mother Wang Lady needless to say, seeing Baoyu is kissed and kneaded, all kinds of pity. The sisters in the garden were intimate with him, and even the servants were devoted to him. Although his father Jia Zheng treated him harshly, he also had high hopes.
Jia Huan because of his blunt talent, coupled with the day after tomorrow's lack of learning and no skills, almost no one in Jia Fu liked him, the saddest thing is that his birth mother Aunt Zhao not only never cared for him, but also arbitrarily insulted him and provoked him to cause trouble, Jia Huan was around Aunt Zhao to see what she did. Her mother did not set a good example, and no one gave proper guidance, so Jia Huan had already moved towards the path of treachery and despicable since she was a child.
If Jia Huan was born to be valued, loved, and encouraged, would he destroy his good and beautiful nature? Attention and encouragement can make a person, but damage and insult can destroy a person!
If a good seed is not cultivated in fertile soil, it is useless to want to show trees into forests. The external environment has a great influence on the growth of human nature, which is exactly what Cao Xueqin wants to convey our educational philosophy.
There is truth, goodness and beauty in the human world, and there are demons. In the face of the good, evil, beauty and ugliness of human nature, Taoist culture emphasizes listening to its nature, seeking its emptiness, and using the survival wisdom of static braking. The Buddhists believe that evil in human nature should be removed, towards the good, and ultimately to achieve the ethereal unity of truth, goodness and beauty. Confucian culture emphasizes active accession to the WTO, emphasizing that people cannot escape the responsibility of society, and should promote the development of healthy humanity in the whole society through their own moral cultivation.
For the Confucian and Taoist culture in traditional culture, it seems that it is difficult to confront the many problems caused by the current Western civilization and multiculturalism. In this regard, some scholars believe that it is precisely the era in which we live, the external social rules and prohibitions formed, and the twists and turns in people and things that cause our human nature to violate nature and detach from the truth.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > man is not perfect, not as pure and perfect as a bodhisattva, but he can regain his faith and find the ideal humanity. </h1>
The old saying "beautiful jade is flawless", which means that there is no flaw in the jade, but the jade that really has no flaw is almost non-existent in nature, and if there is, it can only be a fake.
The same is true of man, who is perfect without any flaws in the heavens, not mortals. "Lao Tzu" Cloud: Golden jade full of halls, Mo Zhi can keep. Too perfect human nature is prohibitive.
The squire Olva was kind and charitable, adopted the abandoned child Tom, and secretly helped the villagers whose lives were in trouble, but he was not a perfect character. He lacked the insight to listen to rumors and indiscriminately expelled Tom; he was blindly fond of Bliffy until the truth finally came to light.
The protagonist, Tom Jones, is handsome, kind and brave, chivalrous, and generous, but some of Tom's actions are particularly striking like flaws on the jade. On the one hand, this outcast sincerely loves Sophia, and on the other hand, he has had ambiguous relations with other women more than once. Particularly incomprehensible was the fact that he had become the face of the noblewoman Bellaston for fifty pounds.
People are a mixture of reason and feelings, and people with good character will also lose their footing due to momentary impulses.
As long as a person does not become hypocritical and does not fester from the heart, he can still become a decent person. Tom's prodigal son turned back to the gold and did not change, painfully changed the previous wrong, and finally got Sophia's forgiveness and won a happy love.
Olvasui also realized from this that his partiality and partiality were harmful to others, and after believing that he was no longer blind to people.
The only flawless character in the novel is Sophia. She is truly "white and rich", with perfect character and excellent recognition. The two old squires, Olvassui and Weston, had been fooled by Bliffy, and only Sophia had never been deceived by him. At the same time, despite Tom's unforgivable stain, she could still see his sincere and generous nature.
Sophia is an idealized character in the mind of the writer Fei Erding, just as Tang Xiaofu is the embodiment of the perfect woman in Qian Zhongshu's novel "The Siege of the City". In the appendix after the book "Siege of the City", Yang Dai mentioned: "Tang Xiaofu is obviously the author's favorite character, and he is reluctant to marry her to Fang Hongwei. ”
The writer's exemplar of perfect humanity in his works not only reveals the writer's selfishness, but also satisfies the reader's good wishes for the pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty.
When people truly know themselves, it is often the time when human nature is perfected. Tom's teacher Squire and his birth mother, Bai Lijie, each recognized their false selves before their deaths and confessed in their wills. This makes us see that human nature is hopeful, but at the same time regrets, not to face death, often do not take the initiative to reflect on themselves, countless tragedies and countless disasters are produced in this way.
The imperfection of human nature is like Venus's broken arm, incomplete but very real, leaving us with a lot of room for imagination. It is precisely because human nature has such defects that we will have the desire to pursue perfection, so that we will continue to transform ourselves and find the ideal humanity again.
< h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > human nature is complex and changeable and undetermined</h1>
There are no absolutes in human nature, and the same person is sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes concerned about you, sometimes indifferent to you. This is all normal.
The wealthy squire Weston was a vulgar, tyrannical, ignorant, foul-mouthed landlord with a rosy smell, and an out-and-out money worshipper. When Weston learned that Tom was also Olvassui's nephew and would inherit his family business, he was eager to complete the marriage from opposition to rejection.
Sophia's maid, Sister Anor, was previously loyal to her master and fled with Sophia. However, once Monsieur Weiston fired her, knowing that Madame Bellathon was ill-behaved and culprit in framing Sophia, Onor could not withstand the temptation of high salaries and was willing to become Madame Bellaston's servant.
George, a black man, accepts Countless favors from Tom, but when Tom is expelled from the house, he shamelessly encroaches on the £500 that Olvassy gave Tom. When Tom is imprisoned, George, a black man, finally finds out in his conscience and delivers letters to Tom several times.
There are also Tom's retinue Oftbridge, the innkeeper's lady, etc., these "little people" living at the bottom of society, for the needs of life, deceive and deceive to obtain material benefits, and the unbroken conscience and essential kindness will also prompt them to reflect spiritually.
Don't test humanity, don't – it's not vulnerable at all. Especially in the current situation of money and profit, the complexity and change of human nature are clear at a glance.
Conclusion: The History of the Abandoned Tom Jones presents us with a feast of humanity: honesty and trustworthiness, kindness and bravery, enthusiasm and generosity, and helpfulness make us feast; hypocrisy, cunning, ungratefulness, insatiable greed, selfishness make us despise and hate. Yet even if we hate the dark side of human nature, it is still real and unavoidable. A person who has his bright side will also have his dark side, just as the two sides of the coin should be regarded, understood, and tolerated with a normal mind.
The philosopher Plotinus said that man is between gods and beasts, sometimes inclined to one kind and sometimes to another; some are becoming more and more sacred, some have become beasts, and most have remained moderate.
Human nature is inherently a complex subject, and we all need to seriously study this human nature course, because only by reading human nature can we understand life.
Human nature is also the most interesting book, which cannot be read in a lifetime.