In the very first page in this book The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman which is chapter 1 and page 1, the narrator, Tristram Shandy, describes the moment that his parents were having sex. During that moment, his mother interrupted his father because he did not wind up the clock, which was the signal of having sex. On the movie ‘Cock and Bull Story’ also has this scene and Tristram Shandy thinks that every bad and unfortunate thing is already made before he was born.

Tristram says about ‘animal spirits, as how they are transfused from father to son’. (5) I think that Tristram thinks that because of his mother’s interruption made his father’s emotion was not happy and that unhappiness was transfused to his son during the production of Tristram Shandy. In the foot note, it says that stern draws principally on John Locke’s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding which had great influence on eighteenth century epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, however, the explanation on foot note about ‘animal sprits’ are much different with Tristram’s use of that word which is just saying his parents’ unhappiness passed to unborn (even unmade I think) Tristram and unexpected happening (because his father did not wind up the clock) has effect on his future life. The foot note says “though it remains uncertain whether Sterne had really studied the Essay, or was simply familiar with some of its principal ideas” (542) and I think that the author Laurence Sterne used theory as his own interpretation of that.

work citation:

Sterne, Laurence, and Ian Campbell. Ross. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.

Early on in Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman there is a reference to the theory of Humorism. According to the Oxford English Dictionary Online, humorism is “the theory that health, disease, and temperament are determined by the four humours of the body”. A humour is “any of four fluids of the body (blood, phlegm, choler, and so-called melancholy or black bile) believed to determine, by their relative proportions and conditions, the state of health and the temperament of a person or animal” (OED Online).  

In the first chapter of Volume I, Tristram describes his conception and the failure of his parents to take it seriously. He claims that the manner in which a man is begotten can effect “the production of a rational Being. . .the happy formation and temperature of his body, perhaps his genius and the very cast of his mind; –and. . . even the fortunes of his whole house might take their turn from the humours and dispositions which were then uppermost” (Sterne 5). There is also a footnote for this passage included by the editor, Ian Campbell Ross, listing what the four humours are and further explaining that it was thought in “ancient physiology” that “the ideal person had an equal mixture of the four, while a predominance of one would lead to a person who was sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric or melancholy” (541). It was thought that the four humours, and body fluids in general, completely determined a person’s health and emotional stability. By referencing the theory of humorism, Tristram is further affirming his belief that conception is the most important factor in how someone turns out later in life. This reference is also a bit ironic because while the four humours are not actually the fluids that determine who a person becomes, DNA is, which is contained in another bodily fluid, semen.

Ross likely included this footnote because the word “humour” or “humor” has a much different meaning in current english than it did in the time Sterne wrote the novel. Those who have not encountered this theory in other works or through research of their own would have been confused to its meaning in this context. Also, because this was such a important aspect of ancient medicine and ideologies, it also gives the reader some insight into how important Tristram’s idea about conception is to him and how seriously he takes it.

The image that I chose is an illustrative representation of the four humours, also called the four temperaments, (clockwise, starting from the top left): Sanguine (Blood), Choler (Yellow Bile), Phlegm, and Melancholy (Black Bile). Each of the separate images represent the emotion that humour is associated with. Sanguine is associated with contentment or carefreeness, Choler with anger or aggression, Phlegm with neutrality or a lack of emotion, and Melancholy with depression. The four humours are also associated with seasons, which is also depicted in the illustration: Sanguine is associated with spring, Choler with summer, Phlegm with winter, and Melancholy with autumn.

Works Cited

“humorism, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2016. Web. 17 November 2016.

“humour | humor, n.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, September 2016. Web. 18 November 2016.

Sterne, Laurence. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. Edited by Ross, Ian Campbell. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print.

Tristram Shandy tells us not just the story of his life, but the story of his conception and the events leading up to his birth as well. He wants to make it very clear that the circumstances of his life were predetermined and out of his control, and the only way he could do that is by telling the readers of what took place prior to his birth. Tristram acknowledges this early in Volume I when he says “For which cause, right glad I am, that I have begun the history of myself in the way I have done; and that I am able to go on tracing every thing in it, as Horace says, ab Ovo.” ( Vol I, Chapter IV, pg.8). After following the footnote, ab ovo was explained as “from the birth of Helen, from Leda’s egg”. It was also explained by the footnote that Horace was against the idea of telling a story ab ovo so it seemed like Tristram was mocking Horace. This helped me further understand the passage. Tristram wanted to tell his story from the very beginning and it did not really matter to him if there were people that were against that type of story telling. He goes so in depth that at one point in this chapter he tells the readers that aren’t interested in the events prior to his birth to skip over the rest of the chapter. “To such, however, as do not choose to go so far back into these things, I can give no better advice, than that they skip over the remaining parts of this chapter.” ( Vol I, Chapter IV, pg.8). It almost seems like a joke that he would tell his readers to skip this passage but this just further shows how much he cares about telling the full story of his life, ab ovo. He doesn’t care if some of the readers skip through that passage as long as the story of his birth and conception are fully detailed.

“Amicus Plato; that is, DINAH was my aunt; —sed magis amica veritas—but Truth is my sister,” (pages 53-54) is said by Tristram’s father to Uncle Toby in regards to the “Shandy Family Scandal.” In this short excerpt, the phrase “Amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas,” stood out the most. This phrase is of Latin root, and when it is translated it means “Plato is my friend, but truth is a better friend.” Aristotle’s great work called Nicomachean Ethics is the root of the creation of this phrase. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle discusses the concepts of ethics and, in direct relation to this statement, the ethics of friendship. Aristotle elaborates on what qualities a good friend has and how it should benefit the two in that friendship. However he makes a statement that he would “rather be in accord with the truth than with the friendship with our master, Plato.” Many other great writers took his saying and tried to make some sense of it. Thomas Aquinas is one person who goes into great depths defining this controversial phrase. He suggests, “Although we should have friendship for both truth and our fellow man, we ought rather to love truth because we should love our fellow man especially on account of truth and virtue.

To get a better understanding of this phrase, we could apply this definition back to the text “The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman.” Great-aunt Dinah made her famous entrance in Volume 1 and Volume 2 in which she is the foundation of embarrassment and disgrace for the Shandy Family. She is this foundation because of her decision to marry a coachman and for having a child very late in her life. When Walter states “Dinah was my aunt; but truth is my sister,” it could mean that although he does not agree to her bringing shame to the family in that manner, it is the truth behind it that prevails. This overall can help us understand Walters characteristics better because it moves I sync with Tristram’s painting of a “speculative,” “systematic,” philosopher in grain.

In Volume II, Chapter 17, pg. 98, Sterne includes an entire sermon – word for word.

The sermon seems to be asserting a certain stance on morals that a human being should practice. However, the sermon is placed at an odd part of the novel. In fact, it seems to be quite contradicting. The positioning of the sermon demonstrates that man do not act like they should, and even certain testing life events do not steer them in the right way. The sermon turns out to be a complete failure: Trim weeps for his brother, Walter theorizes about authorship, Uncle Toby sorts out the military metaphors, Dr.Slop sleeps. Clearly, no one feels a stir in their conscience upon hearing the sermon. In fact, the sermon actually creates an opposite effect – it symbolizes the lack of conscience. It takes a while for the characters to actually get through reading the sermon, for everyone keeps interrupting. Everyone seems to be more concerned with technical matters of the sermon, rather than the content itself, or rather the message behind the content.

Maybe that’s the point though? Not to discover some secret meaning, but to elicit a response. Reading Tristram Shandy, and especially watching it, the main “thing” that I understood is that there is no moral to the story. Sterne seems to be writing about the nature of art, and the idea is that art is able to make us feel something. For example, in the film, the directors, producers, actors, etc. are not in the slightest bit concerned with the content of the novel – the only thing they care about is what will do best with the audience. At the end of the film, the response itself doesn’t even matter, what matters is that the creators were able to generate one.

As for my picture, like Sterne, I am just going to leave the following: 

I am sure everyone is able to associate this color with something or even argue what it could possibly symbolize. It’s hard for our brains to see something and not associate it with anything else. I think Tristam Shandy perhaps plays with that idea, maybe at times wondering if the response is something an author can control.

In chapter 32 of volume three of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, it is a scene where Tristram’s great grandmother talks about his great grandfather’s nose. “—-‘Because,’ quoth my great grandmother, repeating the words again, —-‘you have little or no nose, Sir’—-“ (Sterne, 174). The great grandmother of Tristram complains about how her husband does not have a great nose at all. From the start of this novel and throughout the whole entire book, there seems to be a thing about the nose. What is it about noses that it has to be a reoccurring object?

Once Tristram’s great grandmother started to criticize her husband’s nose, he gets all offended and starts defending himself. “”S’death! Cried my great grandfather, clapping his hand upon his nose, — ‘tis not so small as that comes to; — ‘tis a full inch longer than my father’s” (Sterne, 174). However, throughout the passage, Tristram goes on to explain to the reader that his great grandfather’s nose was actually flat. Tristram alludes to the story of Pantagruel when trying to help illustrate to the reader how flat of a nose his great grandfather had. From the footnote it is said that Pantagruel was a “gigantic son of the giant Gargantua” (Sterne, 565), who had traveled to Ennasin. The footnote also included that the inhabitants of Ennasin had “noses shaped like the ace of clubs” (Sterne, 565). If one does not understand what an ace of clubs look like, just picture it as a four-leaf clover with a stem, except it only has three leaves.

Going back to the topic of noses and why Tristram keeps on referring back to it. It also reminds that reader why Tristram keeps on referring back to the shape of his nose and how it got injured to how his penis also got injured. It seems as if though the two objects are related and produces a symbolism in the novel. Whenever the subject about the nose is brought up, it alludes to the fact that Tristram is in fact talking about the penis. Additionally, what is interesting about the ace of clubs is that it sort of looks like a penis if one uses their imagination further. It is not that story of Pantagruel and his adventure to Ennasin that is important. What is more important is the fact that the people’s noses that lived on Ennasin were shaped like the ace of clubs. It helps the reader understand that the Tristram’s great grandmother is possibly complaining about the size of her husband’s penis because as said earlier nose is a reference to penis. Also, the ace of clubs is a reference to penis. Everything makes so much sense when it one realizes the fact that nose is a reference to penis. It is a reoccurring symbolism throughout the novel. Therefore, this passage and the footnote opens up a whole different perspective into understanding that noses aren’t just noses in this novel, it is in fact a penis. One needs to think outside of the box when reading the footnotes and the passages for this novel.

As mentioned in the footnote, the word “Homunculus” is used to refer to the miniature human figure which early microscopists believed they saw in a spermatozoon. In earlier century fiction, it has historically referred to the creation of a miniature, fully formed human.

In Book I (chapter II), Tristram Shandy provides the details of the fateful night how the troubles had started even before his birth. Tristram Shandy, is found enlightening the reason behind his doomed life which is wrongly passing of animal spirits by his very own parents, “Then let me tell you, Sir, it was a very unseasonable question at least, -because it scattered and dispersed the animal spirits, whose business it was to have escorted and gone hand-in-hand with the HOMUNCULUS, and conducted him safe to the place destined for his reception (6)”.

To me the word “Homunculus” although is used to describe how Mr. and Mrs. Shandy was at fault for Tristram Shandy’s damned life, however is used by our very own narrator, Tristram, like an intangible weapon used for appealing his readers to perk up their ears and get ready to sympathize with his life consisted of pitiful misadventures and accidents.

In most stories in the very beginning, when a narrator narrates a story, a protagonist is described as either virtuous, smart, charming, beautiful or anything that will escalate their personality or status. Whereas in Tristram Shandy’s story, at all times, he leaves no room to belittle himself. He provides deep and lengthy details of his doomed life from the very beginning playing as a victim. In my viewpoint, the word “Homunculus”, helps us catch a glimpse of Tristram’s personality more clearly than the context/theme in that very chapter. I think Tristram reveals himself as a self-obsessed and highly opinionated individual, providing detailed flaws about all other characters playing a role in his misfortunate life. In addition, guiding his readers what the rest of the story is going to be like. In other words, I believe we are able to unveil the flaws of Tristram’s mind rather than Mr. and Mrs. Shandy’s or anybody else’s from the story.

In book II (chapter II), Locke’s theory, ‘Essay upon the Human Understanding’ is mentioned. To me, I think that context relates to this very chapter that could be used to describe the foundation of Tristram Shandy’s life and opinions. Basically, Locke’s theory defines “the association of the ideas” is the flaw of the mind. Now with the words like Homunculus, the wrongly dispersal of animals spirits is how he begins to self describe his ill-fated life even way before he is born which I believe could merely be the flaw of his mind. Evidently, Tristram’s way of narration, unconscious association, random digressions and chaos in his life invokes the thousands of weaknesses in his personality. Which could indeed be the flaw of his mind in association of ideas of the unfortunate incidents that he had encountered before and after his birth.

Works Cited

Sterne, Laurence. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.

According to Walter Shandy, names “irresistibly impress’d upon our character and conduct” (43). This means that you can understand a man and his character just by knowing his name. In chapter XIX of Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, we go to the main characters basic information, his name. We hear from Tristram time and time again how his life was destined to be doomed even before he was born. We get some insight into his father Walter Shandy and the name he chose for his son Tristram.

Walter Shandy had very particular views about the names you give your children. He said “he would lose all kind of patience whenever he saw people, especially of condition, who should have known better, — as careless and as indifferent about the name they imposed upon their child” (45). In the footnote, Tristram is stated as “Walter Shandy has an aversion to the name, which derives from the French ‘triste’ or ‘sad’, and implies ‘son of sorrow’” (547).  From the footnote we now understand the meaning of Tristram and the tragedy of being given a name by someone who absolutely abhors it.

It was as if Walter had an obsession with the name since he would often think about it and dispute it with others. Walter had a very strong opinion of anyone with the name Tristram and even said “he had the lowest and most contemptible opinion of it of any thing in the world,—thinking it could possibly produce nothing in rerum natura, but what was extremely mean and pitiful” (46). Walter strongly believed that a man could not possibly do anything positive or worthwhile with his life if his name was Tristram. Walter focused so much on his aversion of the name that two years before Tristram was born he decided to write his opinions of it in a dissertation.

Focusing solely on the passage (and not the film), we don’t quite get why Walter named his son Tristram especially since he’s gone to great lengths to show his disapproval. What we do see is how it supports Tristrams claims that if it weren’t for his parents and their actions, even before he was born, he would have turned out much differently. Everything that has gone wrong and will go wrong in his life is all due to his parent’s mistakes even before his conception. I believe Walter feels as if he’s been jinxed in having a son named Tristram because of the way Tristram was conceived. We know from the first page that Tristram’s conception was interrupted by his mother Elizabeth asking Walter if he’d wind the clock. Walter expresses how he has suffered everyday during Tristram’s childhood when he says “ten times in a day suffering sorrow;-ten times in a day calling the child of his prayers TRISTRAM!—Melancholy dissyllable of a sound! which, to his ears, was unison to Nicompoop” (47). Understanding the meaning of Tristram is understanding the man and his family. Even after knowing Walter’s views on the name, we understand the irony and how Tristram was destined to fail from the moment he was born.

Image Source: https://dearestsomeone.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/sara-herranz.jpg?w=415&h=415

In the beginning stages of Laurence Sterne’s novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, Tristram Shandy describes the events leading up to his birth. After telling readers about the day he was born, Tristram discusses the concept of “fortune” or luck as it relates to his life. According to the word’s footnote, “Fortune” is a Roman goddess. In the part of the novel where Tristram reveals to readers his birthday, Sterne “distinguishes between the pagan idea of Fortune from the Christian concept of Providence” (542) which means the protective care of God or divine direction, control, or guidance (OED, def. 2). Tristram uses the Romans’ personification of the word “fortune” when describing the effect it has had on his life: “I will not wrong her (Fortune) by saying, She has ever made me feel the weight of any great or signal evil;—yet with all the good temper in the world, I affirm it of her, That in every stage of my life … the ungracious Duchess has pelted me with a set of as pitiful misadventures and cross accidents as ever small HERO sustained” (10). By describing fortune as an actual being that causes mishaps in Tristram’s life, Sterne appears to be making the argument that life events are random and happen solely due to good or bad luck. Furthermore, by stating that “fortune” is the cause of Tristram’s problems and not “providence”, Sterne seems to oppose the idea that life events are predetermined by a higher power for a greater purpose.

Sterne supports the argument that life is spontaneous and the result of good or bad luck by making the events in Tristram’s life completely random and coincidental, one of which is his conception. On the very first page of the novel, readers find out that Tristram’s father always winds up the clock before sleeping with Tristram’s mother. However, on the night when they conceive Tristram, Tristram’s father forgets to wind the clock and his wife interrupts him while they are engaging in sexual intercourse (5). In the same way that Tristram’s mother interrupts his father, Tristram frequently interrupts his own telling of stories throughout the novel and struggles to get to the main point of the original topic he discusses. Due to Tristram’s frequent digressions in the novel’s earlier volumes, the story seems to be heading in no particular direction and therefore appears to have no ultimate purpose or underlying meaning. Tristram’s unlucky conception, which caused his frequent digressions, along with the novel’s lack of direction and true meaning further solidifies Sterne’s argument that life and its events are not divinely predetermined nor occur to serve a greater purpose. However, the novel may purposely be filled with digressions and lack an underlying fable-like meaning to show readers the way in which people actually remember life events and interpret them. Despite how frustrated readers may feel about Tristram’s scattered thought process and memory, his character’s way of thinking accurately imitates how real people recollect the past.

Works Cited

“Providence” Def. 2. Oxford English Dictionary, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

Sterne, Laurence. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman. New York: Oxford UP, 2009. Print.

Laurence Sterne’s novel, ” The life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman” is a novel mixed with comedy and hidden sexual jokes. The passage in volume 1, chapter XXIV, states ” whether he was a Hobby – Horse or no: But as the Philosopher would use no other arguments to the sceptic, who disputed with him against the reality of motion, save that of rising up upon his legs, and walking a-cross the room.”(pg,62). Tristram Shandy starts to talk about the Hobby – Horse that uncle Toby rides before he explains uncle Toby’s injury. Tristram Shandy compares a philosopher with uncle Toby, to show that they both would use no other argument to prove that whatever they believe in is correct.

The footnote in volume 1, chapter XXIV, explains what the word philosopher means. It states ” To provide the falsity of the argument, attributed to Zeno of Elea, denying the existence of motion, Diogenes the Cynic is supposed to have stood up and walked”. A philosopher is a person who believes strongly in his or hers belief. Tristram Shandy uses the word philosopher to show that uncle Toby cares about his Hobby – Horse and if other people don’t like it uncle Toby does not care. The footnote talks about two greek philosophers that did not see eye to eye. Zeno of Elea , was a greek philosopher who thought he could make people believe the unity of existence mathematically. Arguing against motion, he wrote 40 paradoxes showing how motion cannot exist. Diogenes the Cynic was a greek philosopher, who founded Cynicism. Cynicism means, the purpose of life is to live in virtue, in agreement with nature. According to the footnote, when Zeno of Elea denied the existence of motion, Diogenes the Cynic left the room. Diogenes the Cynic had a strong belief in what he believed in, so leaving the room showed that he was not willing to listen to what Zeno of Elea was saying. This is the same with uncle Toby.

Uncle Toby riding the Hobby – Horse is similar to Diogenes the Cynic standing up and walking away. Riding the Hobby – Horse for uncle Toby is uncle Toby not listening to what the world thinks about him and that is uncle Toby escaping reality. The next paragraph, Tristram Shandy states, ” and he carried my uncle Toby so well, that he troubled his head very little with what the world either said or thought about it.” The Hobby – Horse was uncle Toby’s escape. As the philosopher leaves, so does uncle Toby. The word “Philosopher” pairs perfect with the footnote at the end of the novel because the word “philosopher” works hand in hand with explaining why uncle Toby uses rides the Hobby – Horse.

Citations:

@ahencyclopedia. “Zeno of Elea.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., 02 Sept. 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.

“Diogenes.” Diogenes. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.