The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

The characters in Tristram Shandy each try to assert control over their lives in different ways: Walter through academic research and debate, Toby by recreating the battle that wounded him, and Tristram by writing his life. To what extent are their attempts to exert control successful? In what ways do other characters try to exert control?

Tristram describes his theory about hobbyhorses at great length. To what extent do these hobbyhorses explain his theories about the human condition?

How do the novel’s narrative digressions reflect the processes of human cognition? Are they compatible with modern psychological theories? Why or why not?

In Volume 7, Tristram reveals that he is trying to outrun—and out-write—death. Where else does death come up in the novel? To what extent is mortality a major theme?

As well as the main Shandy family, the servants feature heavily in the novel. In what ways are their experiences similar to those of the Shandy family? How do they differ?

What do Sterne’s metafictional techniques, such as the marbled and blank pages, reveal about the nature of reading and writing fiction? What do they reveal about the limitations and possibilities of print and the written word?

Imagine recounting the events of Tristram Shandy in chronological order. What could be gained from this approach? What would be lost?

In what ways does Tristram Shandy prefigure the ideas of Postmodern literature? Are there features of the Postmodern novel not present in Tristram Shandy?