Discuss the view that Tony Lumpkin is nothing more than a comic country bumpkin

Traditionally the pastoral genre celebrates the virtues of undecomposable, rustic life farther from the city or court, in which the cosmos is classd as unintelligent and fatuitous. Tony is causeised as jovial and carefree by language and form. He is uninhibited and is interest in fun going forward without being diverted by any sense of commitment, mother, I cannot stay, which mirrors the unpredictability of nature and country.Through characterisation, goldsmith uses Tonys character as a symbol for the simpleton, idyllic country life where drinking, enjoyment and singing are paramount. Although goldworker challenges this stereotype of the rural population through the character of Tony throughout She Stoops to Conquer and subsequently illuminates the theme of opinion vs. reality. Goldsmiths nominalisation of Tony Lumpkin initially presents his character as stereotypic of a simple country dweller. Lumpkin could be a subtle indication of Tonys figure. Lump suggests that Tony is a stout man, which reflects his uninhibited lifestyle lead in the country relaxing and singing songs in the Three Pigeons, toroddle, toroddle, toroll. This mirrors Third Century idealised pastoral life in which shepherds and shepherdesses enjoyed a life of blissful ease, thus presenting Tony as an unsophisticated character who lacks the refinement of a man of the t give bred a scholar. Moreover, Lumpkin is similar to the word hick which is a derogatory term for a simple rustic, further implying Tonys lack of grace.Goldsmith enhances this depiction of Tonys carefree lifestyle through the setting of the alehouse. S of all timeal shabby fellows are identified in this setting which reflects the lower social class facet of society which Tony associates with, the adjective shabby suggests that this is a relatively impoverished aggroup of local country dwellers who, comparable Tony, are content with drinking punch and smoking tobacco. The song sung in said alehouse by Tony perpetuates the fact that he lives the unprosperous life of a country rube.The words nonsense and learning are juxtaposed in the lyrics to show Tony is uninterested in education, and furthermore that he is a lazy and unambitious character which is how country common people are presented to behave in the pastoral genre. Nonetheless, Goldsmith establishes Tonys character as much more than this, as he is able to deceive the town folk into believing Hardcastles home is an inn. Tonys deception is also rather profound as he diverts Marlow and battle of Hastings from the long, dark, boggy road which they intended to travel.The numerous adjectives listed shows Tony as a rather manipulative character with more intelligence than was first shown, which is an anti-pastoral presentation of Tony considering country folk were thought to be kind and welcoming. Through this Goldsmith challenges the stereotypes of the country, as Tony, a sibyllic country bumpkin is able to mislead the town folk with supposed excellent understanding. This lampoon encompasses the themes of appearances and stereotypes into the plot and undermines the simplicity of Tonys character. Goldsmith parallels Tony with the servants and doric characters like Diggory, which the country hosts.The poor grammar of Diggory, parfectly unpossible, shows his low levels of intellect supposedly as a result of rustic life. Goldsmith uses Tonys language and dialect to show his similarly plain and simple life in the country. Goldsmith incorporates malapropisms into Tonys speech which shows his limited intellect. He frequently confuses genius with genus, which creates a humorous irony since the very word he is using incorrectly, he has used to fall upon himself, shown through the personal pronoun my genus. This creates comedy as well as reflecting to the audience Tonys simplicity.Furthermore, Goldsmith utilises the word ecod in Tonys speech, which was 18th century camber used to express mild surprise, meaning oh God. Howeve r Tonys speech often encompasses this word even in situations which are not surprising or exciting, this suggests that Tonys life in the country is lacking vivacity and thus he must find excitement in the most sullen situations, which seldom beguile the life of a bumpkin. However, Tony often provides witty remarks which entertain the audience but also contradict the interpretation that Tony is just a bumpkin. When acting as witness for the theft of Mrs Hardcastles bobs, Tony says Ill say I saw them taken out with my own eyes, which is comically ironic since he got them himself and therefore actually did see them taken out. The dramatic irony of the situation relays to the audience the comedy and wit of Tonys conversation. Contrarily, Mrs Hardcastle remains ignorant to the whole ruse, separate Tonys aptitude for the situation, which presents him as superior and separate from the ignorance of the other country dwellers.Goldsmith embellishes this subtle superior presentation of Tony through the utilisation of stage directions. At the alehouse Tony is seated a little higher than the rest, which presents him as having relative authority over the other fellows. Furthermore, his song creates a harmony within the group and unites the men, which Goldsmith shows through the unanimous hurrah said by omnes Latin for all. Both devices present Tony as a figure resembling a shepherd, cautionary of his flock.Despite the pastoral connotations this presentation of Tony shows him to have relative power and authority, separating him from the other doric characters and thus suggesting he is more than a comic country bumpkin. Alternatively, Vicki Janik describes Tony as the most ignorant of the country bumpkins. Through Mrs Hardcastle, Goldsmith reveals that Tony isnt well educated, I dont think a boy wants much learning. Tonys lack of education and structure in life indulged by his doting mother, has resulted in his consumptive figure and his occasional lack of consciousness .Goldsmith highlights Tonys flaw character through Mrs Hardcastles deception of concealing (his) age so that he may not claim his inheritance. In fact it is revealed Tony has been of age for terzetto months, the absurdity of the situation ameliorates the comedy as well as augmenting the stupidity of Tonys character, since he cannot even track his own age complimenting Janiks criticism. Moreover, considering that in Georgian England, most country dwellers were uneducated Tony is clearly an accurate stereotype of a bumpkin.Tonys lack of education, the ale-house and the stable are the only schools hell ever go to, also reflect Tonys limited horizons which means hes confined to his country life without hope of improvement this is shown through Goldsmiths use of only. Tonys small scope of existence illuminates the simplicity of his life and that of a bumpkin. However, Goldsmith shows that Tony does have some degree of awareness of his situation, as he asks his mother let me have my for tin, demonstrating that Tony is not contented with his current finance and wishes to pursue his inheritance.This drama is recurring throughout the play which shows Tonys determination to become financially independent and be made a fool of no longer since currently he is only able to go to the alehouse so often because he has a key to every drawer of his mothers bureau. This suggests that Tony is not merely a country bumpkin since he demonstrates a certain greed more commonly associated with the town with their vanity and affectation, therefore not all the qualities of his character conform to the stereotype of a country bumpkin.Goldsmith uses a cyclical structure to further highlight how Tony is trapped in his unambitious, mundane life. In the final lines of the play, Goldsmith identifies that Tony is his own man again, the use of the word again reflects the lack of development in Tonys character, nothing has improved in his country life which could omen the stability and continui ty of the uncorrupted country or alternatively it could illuminate Tonys lack of ambition for self-improvement to embellish his simple nature.This presentation of Tony as a simple, undeveloped character reaches a climax at the end of the play as Goldsmith contrasts Tony from the country and Marlow from the town. Through stage directions, joining their reach, Goldsmith shows that Marlow has been able to overcome his trembling when talking to ladies of high society, through his romance with Kate, whereas Tony, as afore mentioned, remains the same suggesting he is a country bumpkin unable to develop due to his indulged rural existence. Nonetheless, Goldsmith presents Tonys character as having a level of moral complexity through his relationship with his first cousin, Constance.Tony refers to Constance as cousin Con, the shortened version of her name acts as endearment and the indication to the familial relationship shows how Tony is caring and a good natured creature at bottom. Furt hermore, Tony helps his cousin retrieve her jewels which are her fortune, so she may leave with Hastings. Tony quickly agrees to clap a pair of horses to (their) chaise, in aid. This generosity demonstrated through the plot to retrieve Constances jewels implies that Tonys character may be more complex than originally believed to be.Similarly, Tony clarifies that he want(s) no nearer relationship with his cousin and therefore Tonys acceptance to assist Hastings and his proposal to whip (Constance) off to France can be interpreted as a selfish, anti-pastoral act to be rid of Constance. The rural population are seen to be welcoming and sympathetic, rather than narcissistic and under-handed which is how Goldsmith characterises Tony through the nature of this plot, which suggests that Tony is in fact the complete charged opposite of a country bumpkin.Despite the comedic trait of Tonys character being indisputable, seeing as he is usually at the heart of the farce in this play. Throughou t She Stoops to Conquer, Goldsmith clearly opposes the stereotypes of the country folk through the character of Tony Lumpkin. Initially, Tony is seemingly rather plain and peaceful mimetic of the country, but his character develops throughout the play into a more complicated personality, so much more than a country bumpkin.