Question

from the history of tom jones, a foundling

text of the passage

what is the effect of the irony in the first paragraph?

1. it highlights mr. allworthy’s generosity in hiring thwackum solely on the basis of his friend’s recommendation.
2. it illustrates mr. allworthy’s innocence as he is unable to see beyond thwackum’s reputation to his true qualities.
3. it shows the friend’s immorality and untrustworthiness as he purposely deceives mr. allworthy about thwackum’s deficiencies.
4. it creates doubt about thwackum’s favorable recommendation by revealing how the friend is indebted to thwackum’s family.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: The irony doesn't highlight generosity; it questions the recommendation's validity. Eliminate.
• Option 2: The text doesn't show Mr. Allworthy's innocence about true qualities, but about the recommendation's bias. Eliminate.
• Option 3: The friend isn't described as deceiving or immoral; the irony is about the recommendation's partiality. Eliminate.
• Option 4: The line "this friend had some obligations to Thwackum’s family...", shows the friend's bias, casting doubt on the recommendation's fairness. This matches the irony's effect.

Answer:

1. It creates doubt about Thwackum’s favorable recommendation by revealing how the friend is indebted to Thwackum’s family.