sees Tom s good nature and says I am convinced my child that you have much goodness generosity and honour in your temper Fielding shows that goodness is about having a kind heart and learning from mistakes Theme of Hypocrisy Fielding strongly criticises hypocrisy in society Blifil pretends to be obedient and religious But he is actually greedy jealous and deceitful He lies to Squire Allworthy to make Tom appear bad Thwackum Tom s tutor pretends to teach religion but uses religion to punish Tom and support Blifil Through these characters Fielding shows that hypocrisy is more dangerous to religion and goodness than openly bad people As the narrator says Both religion and virtue have received more real discredit from hypocrites than infidels could ever cast upon them Theme of Love and Sexuality Fielding treats love and sexuality as natural parts of human life He does not blame sexual desires outright However Fielding also warns about the dangers of uncontrolled passion and the chaos it can cause Tom s relationships with women like Molly Mrs Waters and Lady Bellaston often lead him into trouble These relationships show that sexual desire without genuine love can create problems For example Lady Bellaston desires Tom and tries to harm Sophia to separate her from Tom She Lady Bellaston resolved to get rid of her Sophia by some means or other However Tom s love for Sophia is true and pure Sophia is beautiful intelligent and virtuous As Tom matures he realises that true love should be based on respect and commitment not just physical attraction This theme shows that sexuality must be guided by love and responsibility Theme of Class and Society Fielding shows the different classes of th-century English society in this novel At the beginning of the novel Tom is found as an infant in Mr Allworthy s bedroom with no clue of his parents So the society treats him as a bastard although he is good-hearted Characters like Mr Allworthy represent the noble kind upper class who care for others While characters like Lady Bellaston represent the fashionable upper class who are selfish and cunning Fielding criticises class prejudice by showing that goodness does not depend on birth or social class Theme of Fate and Fortune The novel also explores how fate controls human life Tom s life changes due to luck and accidents like when Mr Allworthy finds him as a baby on his bed Fielding shows that while fate is important personal choices and goodness shape one s destiny In fine Fielding s Tom Jones entertains us and points us to important themes Fielding believes that true morality is about kindness good intentions and learning from mistakes Love and sexuality are natural but they must be guided by respect and responsibility Hypocrisy should be criticised and society should not judge people by their birth Fielding s realistic and humorous approach to these themes makes the novel one of the all-time favourites