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5.Fortune. The narrator often directs the reader to some event or reaction which is prompted by Fortune. Fortune is personified in the text as if it is a physical entity or active constituent of the plot. It is not viewed as a supernatural force; Fielding goes to great pains to condemn the use of supernatural devices as a simple solution to challenges of plot or characterization. Instead, Fortune describes how a character’s own qualities are projected into events and situations. Allworthy is described as “the favorite of both Nature and Fortune” (53). It is apparent that the favor he has is as much propagated by his own benevolent actions as by any mysterious force. Tom in particular feels that Fortune acts against him, and it is only towards the end of the novel that he realizes that his fortune – or lack of it – is his own creation: “But why do I blame Fortune? I am myself the cause of all my misery” (815). He has been subject to good fortune as well as bad. When ill, Allworthy tells the boy that he has “much goodness, generosity and honour” (228). He is offered Sophia’s lost pocketbook because he helps the beggar, and his greatest ally - Mrs. Miller - takes his side because of this and other selfless kindnesses.