Tristram Shandy

Tristram Shandy

by

Laurence Sterne

The Hobby-Horse

In Tristram Shandy, the concept of the hobby-horse (a personal hobby) symbolizes the idiosyncrasies of human nature—and the idiosyncratic nature of humans, both of which are central focuses of the novel. When Tristram first…

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A Straight Line

The concept of the straight line symbolizes Tristram’s view that life (and the stories one writes to describe it) is nonlinear and often illogical.  Tristram, who stubbornly and perpetually digresses as he attempts to…

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