Characters Typical of a picaresque novel, there is a wide range of characters but few central ones. Roderick "Rory" Random The hero and narrator, son of a Scottish gentleman and a lower-class woman. Hugh Strap Hugh Strap, a simple-hearted barber's apprentice and former schoolmate who is Roderick's companion through most of the novel. He adopts the name "Monsieur d'Estrapes" while in France. Narcissa A gentlewoman and the object of Random's advances during the second half of the novel. They eventually marry. Tom Bowling Random's maternal uncle, he is a sailor who attempts to support Random as best as he can between voyages. His conversation is laced with nautical terminology. Themes Smollett offers a vicious portrayal of hypocrisy, greed, deceit and the snobbery peculiar to the times, especially among the upper and middle classes. He exposes the brutality, incompetence and injustice of the Royal Navy at the Battle of Cartagena in 1741 and in relation to preferment, promotion and medical treatment. The novel embraces common 18th century topics such as privateering, slavery, prostitution, dowries, homosexuality, debtor's prison (the Marshalsea), political and arts patronage, the clergy, the practice of medicine and corruption. Smollett experienced many of these first-hand and portrays them with a candid vigour. Throughout the novel, Random is referred to by him and others as a "North Briton". The relatively recent Act of Union between England and Scotland in 1707 was still controversial. External links 1748 novels Novels by Tobias Smollett Picaresque novels Novels set in London 18th-century British novels 1748 debut novels