Discuss Tom Jones as a Picaresque Novel.
The word “Picaresque” is derived
from the Spanish word “Picarons” and the English “Picaroon” meaning a cheat, an
adventurer, or one who lives by one’s wits. Accordingly, the picaresque novel
is the tale of adventures or misadventures of a picaro or rogue who wanders
from one place to another, from one setting to another, from the town to the
country, and from the country to the town. In the words of Edwin Muir, “the picaresque novel is the tale of
hard—worked travelling hero, posting from inn to inn, now in the country, now in London, knocking at the doors of the great,
mixing with rogues and thieves, languishing in prison, or on board the ship
suffering every vicissitude, good or bad, and enduring them all, not because he
is in need of variety, and is determined to get a pass to as great a number of
scenes as he can.”
The picaresque novel originated
with the anonymous Spanish “Life of Lazarillo de Tormes” about 1550. It was a
realistic description of the career of a young beggar. It was followed by “Guzman
de Alfarache” by Aleman, another Spanish writer in 1599. The first English
picaresque novel was “Jack Wilson or the unfortunate traveler” by Thomas Nash
in 1594. Fielding’s “Tom Jones” is a novel of this genre, picaresque in form
written in 1749.
A picaresque novel has the
following chief features:--
Firstly, It has a picaro or semi—criminal as its central figure,
who has to shift for himself to earn his living, and has many adventures or
misadventures in different social setting. As Diana spearman in her book “The
Novel and Society”, says, “He is born of
poor and degraded parents or he is illegitimate, and has, therefore, to shift for himself early in
life”
