Tristram

The title of the book, Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, reveals the two identities that Tristram Shandy has in the book . Surprisingly, the Tristram for whom this story was written makes few appearances, and when we do see this Tristram,he often appears through the actions and reactions of another character. We do not see Tristram's life directly, but rather, accompanying other characters like Trim, his father, his mother, Dr. Slop, and Toby, etc. For example, we hear of Tristram's nose being crushed only when his father finds out. Ironically, the narrator spends more time on his father's reaction to the accident and other's reactions surrounding Tristram than does he spend with Young Tristram.
This does not mean that we do not get a good look into Tristram Shandy's life. The book is truly about one Tristram Shandy, not the young Tristram Shandy but, rather, the author. Tristram-the-narrator's presence is greatly felt throughout the book. We see into Tristram's life not by the narrator telling about it, but through the views of Tristram-the-author. Through Tristram's many digressions on various topics such as: noses, which are often seen as metaphoric penis, many odd stories on characters like Yorick, and his discussions on different people's HOBBY HORSES we see directly into the life of Tristram Shandy.
Because we see into Tristram's life throughout Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy through Tristram's narration and opinions, we have decided not to link this page to passages on Tristram. Tristram-the-character is insignificant throughout the novel therefore, we have left out links for Tristram. We have instead provided links to other characters and themes in which you may find Tristram-the-author's real identity through his reactions to them.

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Last modified May 12, 1996. Maintained by Keith Earley.
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