Adventures of David Simple

This book proposes to scrutinize and analyze the §contrasts that abound in Sarah Fielding s novel, The §Adventures of David Simple. Contrasts pervade the §novel because they exist in the themes, between the §paired protagonists, and between part one and part §two. The hero, David Simple, is characterized by §his extreme benevolence that rarely exists among §us. He seems uncommon by prioritizing friendship §over anything else. He is an extremist in point of §godliness, innocence, spirituality, sentimentality, §and benevolence. With like-minded friends, David §sets up a utopian community that grows from four to §eleven members, but at last only two female members §survive. The annihilation of David s secluded §utopia brings about the enigma that good seems to go §unrewarded. This book attempts to draw on feudalism §and capitalism to explain the decline of David s §utopia by analyzing the patron-client relationship §that evolves between David Simple and Mr. Orgueil. §To sum up, the threshold of heavenly happiness is §death. The prerequisite for an approach to that §threshold of permanent happiness is benevolence, §which avails to transcend sublunary happiness.