Nature and Purpose of Digression in Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews
It is perhaps a development of Henry Fielding’s verbose writing style that he includes so many digressions in the pages of Joseph Andrews. As an author, he is certainly not afraid to slow the pace of his tale for the development of a moral point, and although this most often takes the place of a paragraph or two within the main story, he does occasionally dedicate entire chapters to matters which are completely unrelated to the plot development but which expound ethical or theological ideas related to the themes of the text as a whole. Also, at the beginning of the first three books, Fielding himself gives a commentary on some aspect of the literary art, in digressions (perhaps prefaces would be a better word) which are fundamentally different in nature to all the others in that they explore ideas relevant to the construction of the book itself, rather than of its themes. They cover such topics as the reason for which the book is being written, the advantages of splitting a book into chapters and the wonders of biography as a literary form; and can almost be considered as explanations by the author as to why he wrote the book the way he did, rather than providing any development of the themes of the text themselves.
Something which holds true for all of the major digressions within the text is that they all occur, to some extent, to relieve the reader: the tale of Leonora is related directly after an intense theological discussion; Wilson’s tale after a rather long chapter containing "several wonderful Adventures"; the discourse between the poet and player after a chapter "containing surprizing and bloody Adventures", and the final digression, that of...
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... isolated ideas, but ideas which are integral to the plot, and, as such, help us to understand the story better as a whole. The digression told by the Poet and the Player, for example, talks of the nature of plays and poetry and their quality as seen in the contemporary theatres; this is later developed by the next chapter, where a discussion occurs between Adams and Joseph on the subject of the performing arts. As usual, Fielding sees no reason not to point this connection out to us directly, as he writes at the end of the digression "the next Chapter ... is a sort of Counterpart to this." This relevance to the book as a whole is common to all of the digressions, Leonora’s tale exploring loyalty, Wilson’s tale exploring personal reformation and forgiveness, and Lennard and Paul’s tale exploring honesty, all of which are themes very much appropriate to the text.
Haddon’s use of chapter digression allows the reader a shift between recounts of Christopher’s experiences and facts given by Christopher. The use of digressions and prime numbers used to number chapters amplify the novel’s distinctiveness, differing it from any other regular novel. Whilst the digressions in the novel correspond with prior or upcoming chapters, elements of Christopher’s character is revealed.
Eight men and my mother wanted to work in the U.S., so they had to travel by bus 100 miles from southern Mexico. But the next 200 miles they had to walk through the desert in order to cross into the U.S. illegally. It was late July. Temperatures reached 110 degrees in the shade of southern Mexico, and several notches higher in the desert sun. While the bus traveled through the dirt road, my mother stood frozen in the old musty seat. Her throat constricted. She could hear the blood pounding in her ears. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to ret...
...rMan, may have obtained great reputation around its fans in China. However, under current Trademark Law in China, it’s difficult for CarMan get special well-known marks’ protection. Because in the second factor of recognition
At the outset, Atwood gives the reader an exceedingly basic outline of a story with characters John and Mary in plotline A. As we move along to the subsequent plots she adds more detail and depth to the characters and their stories, although she refers back with “If you want a happy ending, try A” (p.327), while alluding that other endings may not be as happy, although possibly not as dull and foreseeable as they were in plot A. Each successive plot is a new telling of the same basic story line; labeled alphabetically A-F; the different plots describe how the character’s lives are lived with all stories ending as they did in A. The stories tell of love gained or of love lost; love given but not reciprocated. The characters experience heartache, suicide, sadness, humiliation, crimes of passion, even happiness; ultimately all ending in death regardless of “the stretch in between”. (p.329)
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
...it up to each reader to draw their own conclusions and search their own feelings. At the false climax, the reader was surprised to learn that the quite, well-liked, polite, little convent girl was colored. Now the reader had to evaluate how the forces within their society might have driven such an innocent to commit suicide.
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
comparing the quote to the rest of the themes of the play, we interpret a deeper meaning in the
Hugh Hefner once said, “I looked back on the roaring Twenties, with its jazz, 'Great Gatsby' and the pre-Code films as a party I had somehow managed to miss.” The parties of the Roaring Twenties were used to symbolize wealth and power in a society that was focused more on materialism and gossip than the important things in life, like family, security, and friends. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the characters of Tom and Daisy Buchanan as the epitome of the era. The reader sees these characters acting selfishly and trying to meddle with others’ lives. On the other hand, Nick Carraway, the narrator, acts more to help others and act honestly. Initially the reader sees Carraway’s views towards Jay Gatsby as negative as Gatsby’s actions are perceived as being like the Buchanan’s. As the novel moves forward, the reader notices a change in Carraway’s attitude towards Gatsby. Carraway sees Gatsby for whom he truly is, and that is a loving person who only became rich to win Daisy’s heart. But in this the reader also sees how corrupt and hurtful Gatsby’s actions were to the love of his life. Gatsby’s relationship with Daisy reveals that just as Gatsby’s dream of wooing Daisy is corrupted by illegalities and dishonesty, the “American Dream” of friendship and individualism has disintegrated into the simple pursuit of wealth, power, and pleasure.
Abrams, M.H. and Greenblatt, Stephen eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Seventh Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001.
...and compares it to his affluent livelihood. Just as Daisy says about her daughter that a girl can just be a beautiful little fool, this foreshadows Daisy’s life as she has ruined her relationship with Gatsby. In the end, when Gatsby dies, his funeral shows the artificial affection between Daisy and himself, and his forgotten legacy in society.
The Norton Anthology: English Literature. Ninth Edition. Stephen Greenblatt, eds. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 2308. Print.
America is a melting pot of culture and race. Thus, bringing many different types of religious faiths to today’s society. Whether the beliefs are ancient, new, reconstructed or if people have no faith at all, it is all in America. It is difficult to scrutinize one religion without it concerning another. All religions have diverse beliefs ranging from; the belief of...
As a negative cycle, once the customers’ satisfaction levels are decreased, the financial bottom line of the organization may be decreased. In Singh and Loncar’s example of a hospital and nursing staff, many other negative effects may be had simply from widespread job dissatisfaction among the nursing staff. Lower job performance may increase liability and set the organization up for patient lawsuits, failure to maintain standards may result in loss of or failure to achieve Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) ce...