Narrative Strategy And Morality Of Tom Jones

18th century has been regarded as one of the most important phases for the rise of the novel. When referring to this period, one man can not be avoided. Henry Fielding, who once had to stop writing plays because of the censorship of dramas, began his career as a novelist. In his later life, Henry Fielding, was mostly remembered as "the father of English novel". His masterpiece Tom Jones also received much compliment.Amongst Henry Fielding’s achievements in literature, the most important one is his understanding of novel’s moral function and how to use it in literary creation. Besides that, he also represents the third-person narration.18th century is the phase during which novel rises, at the same time, it also presents social panorama due to the transformation of the old and the new. During this period, narrative strategy grew to be mature. There appeared the first-person narration represented by Daniel Defoe, and epistolary genre, practiced by Richardson in his work, Pamela. Henry Fielding, with his works written in third-person narration, also came into our view.This thesis attempts to start from the novel Tom Jones, and combines theories about narration, especially Wayne Booth’s the Rhetoric of Fiction. Taking the moral function of novel as the target of research, by analyzing historical background and social morality in the18th century England, this thesis aims to discuss the narrative strategy of Tom Jones and the interaction between the choosing of narrative strategy and the realization of novel’s moral function. The text of Tom Jones, theory of narration in18th century English novel and the difference between realism of assessment and realism of presentation are top three focuses of this paper. The18th century social culture and morality help to analyze features of morality in such a changing period. Due attention shall also be paid to the interaction between form and content.From what has been discussed above, this paper tends to make clear the features of18th century English novel narrative strategy and analyze social morality reflected by Tom Jones.