Although the title of the novel by Henry Fielding is, "Joseph Andrews", it is Abraham Adams who captures the main interest of the reader. Parson Adams, who is a friend of Joseph Andrews, is an idealistic clergyman as well as the comic hero of the novel. The following is a brief character evaluation of Parson Adams.
Parson Adams appearance does not depict the typical well-dressed and neat parson that we expect to come across. In fact he is quite contrary to the anticipated ideals. He is a middle-aged man of about fifty years old. Adams is a strong, healthy, and energetic man. His physical appearance is quite interesting as he has a, "comical" face. He has deeply wrinkled cheeks and a bearded chin. Parson Adams legs are considerably so long that they almost touch the ground when he rides on horseback. His fists are, "rather less then the knuckle of an ox", with wrists, " which Hercules would not have been ashamed of.".
Abraham Adams wears a periwig, which he turns inside out at night and binds it with a red spotted, handkerchief to his scalp. His attire matches his comical features for he usually wears a dilapidated old cassock, which is imperfectly hidden by a greatcoat that hardly reaches halfway down his thighs. He adorns his head with an old, tattered hat, which goes quite well with the rest of his out-fit. Adams accessories include an old pipe, and a heavy as well as a stout, crabstick.
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For a middle-aged man of fifty years, Parson Adams has immense, physical strength. He is magnificently strong and healthy. We can see an example of this in the incident where he plunges into the midst of danger and rescues Fanny by knocking her attacker down with his huge fists. He also fights like a mad man when the squire's men at The New Inn attack him. He is capable of a good brawl when the situation and circumstances arise. It is important to mention here that he never indulges in a fight unless it is in self-defense or defense of a weak and or exploited person.
His parents were John and Abigail Adams. ... He graduated in two years and entered the law offices of Theophilus Parsons in Newburyport, Massachusetts. ... John Quincy Adams was elected as president. ... Nothing went right for Adams. ... Adams lost the following presidential election. ...
It was during this time that the Stamp Act was placed into effect, and revolutionary thinkers such as James Otis and Samuel Adams were starting to show the colonists that they didn't need the British to protect them, and that in fact the colonies could protect themselves. ...
