Henry Fielding’s Joseph Andrews: A Classic Journey into the Souls of Mankind

Abstract

This essay first gives some background to the making of Joseph Andrews: the seeds that fruited to make Fielding be labeled, by some critics, the ‘father of the English novel’. The essay goes on to discuss the heroes of this novel and their thematic significance. We then dwell on weaknesses found in the novel: those related to the heroes and other characters owing to weak characterization, and then the weaknesses that arise from the angle of narration. The essay concludes with a brief assessment of why Fielding is still considered a literary giant today.