Tom Jones is a comic novel by Henry Fielding that conveys moral messages in an entertaining format, often demonstrating the downsides of making assumptions and not question someone else's ideas. motivations in certain situations. Tom himself is lied to several times, and early in the novel, and in Tom's younger state, he often fell for these deceptions. Viewing the novel as a bildungsroman, Tom goes through the increasing process of deception to become a wiser character who better understands misconceptions and how humans deceive to get ahead. Although Tom sometimes has to learn these lessons the hard way, he ultimately ends the novel having developed a wisdom and discernment that the other characters always seem to lack. Through Tom's discerning skills, Fielding encourages readers to develop their own critical thinking so as not to fall prey to the schemes and misjudgments of others. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Many of the adults Tom encountered also failed to develop the skills necessary to correctly judge another man's motives, including Benjamin Partridge. Patridge is full of misconceptions, starting with the idea that Tom Jones is Squire Allworthy's son. He deepens his error in believing that Tom has run away from Squire Allworthy. According to the text, “he therefore concluded that it was all fiction and that Jones, whose craziest character his correspondents had often heard him speak of, had in reality run away from his father” (370). Not only does Partridge wrongly assume that Tom has run away from home, but he also spins the story in his favor, concluding that by sending him back to his wrongly presumed "father" he would then find himself back in Tom's good graces. 'Allworthy. . According to the narrator: “If he could by any means persuade the young gentleman to return home, he had no doubt that he would again be received into Allworthy's favor, and well rewarded for his labors; no, and should be restored again to his native land” (410). Partridge constructs this schema and this fictitious reward based on a false understanding of the situation. The reader is led to think that this person may not have things fully figured out, as the scene is introduced with Partridge being "one of the most superstitious of men" (409) and the reader is told that he believes in “omens”. The ironic tone tells the reader; simultaneously giving a lesson in discernment to the reader and Tom. Fielding uses irony here to allow the reader himself to become more perceptive in situations, to be more intelligent than Partridge while being less naive than Allworthy. Like Partridge, Allworthy misjudges the novel's characters and does not think to be suspicious of a person's motivations. This is because he is so selfless and above reproach that he never thinks about how he could be deceived. Fielding uses these contrasts with each other in the hope that both the reader's and Tom's discerning abilities will develop to the point where they fall somewhere between the two extremes. This way they won't be taken advantage of or make false assumptions about others, they will think critically about scenarios and come out on top. According to the narrator, "As for Jones, he was very satisfied with the truth of what the other had asserted and believed that Partridge had no other motivation than love for him." Unfortunately for Tom, not only does Partridge have bad intentions towards him, but several characters in the novel.