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Book 2, Chapter 8
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Joseph Andrews, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Hypocrisy
Lust vs. Chastity
Social Class
Religion and Charity
Summary
Analysis
The hunter praises Abraham Adams for his service to his country. He complains about his own nephew, who is in the army and doesn’t want to go to the West Indies. The hunter has disinherited his nephew and believes cowards should be hanged. Adams says he shouldn’t be too harsh, and that sometimes men who are cowards are brave about other times.
The hunter agrees that Adams’s “service” to his country (preaching) is better than his own nephew’s “service” to his country (military service). The hunter calls his nephew a coward, even though the nephew’s work is probably more dangerous than Adams’s work.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
Abraham Adams mentions a traveling coach, and the hunter tells him they’ve all already passed for the evening. All of a sudden, they hear a violently shrieking female voice. They race toward it. Adams sees a woman fighting with a man. Adams takes his stick and hits the man, but he doesn’t do much damage, and the man soon turns his attention to Adams. The man punches Adams, but Adams is a capable fighter; he knocks the man down, and then punches him. He tells the woman to cheer up because she’s safe now. She is grateful, and Adams believes Providence sent him to help her.
Although Adams’s penchant for fighting can get him into trouble, here it inspires him to do something noble by defending a woman in trouble on the road. While Adams frequently acts in a way that’s hypocritical for a clergyman, this passage shows how sometimes Adams’s unconventional style actually makes him better suited to help those in need around him.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
