How does hendry fielding portray thr relationship between city and country in tom jones
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Answer:
Henry Fielding portrays the relationship between city and country in Tom Jones as a contrast between innocence, natural virtue, and simplicity in the country versus corruption, sophistication, and moral complexity in the city. The countryside represents a space of genuine human nature and honest living, while the city, especially London, symbolizes artificiality, social ambition, and moral ambiguity.
Explanation
In Tom Jones, Henry Fielding uses the settings of the country and the city to explore different aspects of human nature and society. The country, often depicted through the rural estates and villages where much of the novel’s early action takes place, embodies innocence, natural goodness, and straightforwardness. Tom Jones himself, raised in the countryside, is portrayed as fundamentally good-hearted, generous, and sincere. The rural world allows characters to live closer to nature and their true selves, away from the artificial pressures of social rank and wealth. Fielding often shows country folk as honest and trustworthy, despite their occasional simplicity or rustic manners.
In contrast, the city—primarily London—is portrayed as a place of complexity, sophistication, and moral ambiguity. London is where social climbing, deception, and hypocrisy thrive. Characters who go to the city often encounter temptations and challenges that test their virtue and expose the gap between appearance and reality. The city’s bustling, competitive environment encourages manners, wit, and strategic behavior, but often at the cost of genuine morality. For example, fashionable society in London is frequently depicted as superficial, with characters hiding their true intentions behind polite façades.
Fielding does not simply present the city as evil and the country as good; rather, he offers a nuanced view that recognizes virtues and flaws in both. The movement between these spaces reflects Tom’s personal growth and the broader social tensions of 18th-century England. Ultimately, Fielding uses this city-country dynamic to question rigid social distinctions and to argue for a morality based on genuine character rather than social position or appearance.
