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Novel Summaries Analysis

Tom Sawyer

-->Themes and Characters

12/02/2014 (date taken from web)
Tom Sawyer is a trickster figure who challenges the rules of conventional society. He and his younger half-brother
Sid are wards of their highly conventional Aunt Polly, and Tom engages in a variety of ruses to escape from the
impositions of adult society, particularly work and school. Although Sid cleverly sees through Toms antics, his aunt
is more easily fooled. Secretly indulgent of Toms faults, she nonetheless punishes him dutifully when she
discovers his deceptions.
Tom lives in a world defined by the customs and values of boys. He defends his territory, testing newcomers in
fights, and participates in ritual exchanges of valueless, even repugnant, goods such as the dead cat he acquires
from Huck. Bored by the solemnity of church, he disrupts the service with a pinchbug and trades to get tickets
meant to be earned by memorizing Scripture. Subject to childhood romance, he falls in love with Becky Thatcher,
a judges daughter. His attempts to gain her approval, along with his general desire to be the center of attention,
inspire him to show off unabashedly. Ultimately, however, he assumes a heros role, first taking the blame when
Becky accidentally damages the schoolmasters anatomy book, then rescuing her from the cave.
Huckleberry Finn appears in this book as a secondary character. Like Tom, Huck has lost a parent; unlike Tom, he
lives a homeless life, sleeping at an old slaughterhouse. Further removed from social convention, Huck shares
Toms enjoyment of pranks and sharp dealing while lacking Toms regard for respectability. At the end of the
novel, Tom demands that Huck accept civilization in order to remain a member of his gang, which he governs
according to rules he interprets from adventure books.
The boys world is haunted by superstition and governed by biblical injunctions. When they visit the graveyard they
fear ghosts and devils, but they encounter Injun Joe, Muff Potter, and Dr. Robinson robbing a grave. Joe plays the
role of a melodramatic villain, killing the doctor and blaming the murder on the alcoholic Muff. Although ignorant
enough of conventional Christian history to identify the first disciples as David and Goliath, Tom and Huck are so
conditioned by conventional morality that they expect Joe to be struck down by lightning for his lie. When he is
not, the boys assume he has sold himself to the devil. Indeed, he is a demonic character seeking revenge against
ordered society.
Tom and Huck run away with another boy, Joe Harper, to escape from the murder they have witnessed. They live
in freedom on Jacksons Island, enjoying boyish adventures until conscience intrudes. Their imaginations governed
both by books and standard morality, they want to be pirates without violating the biblical injunction against
theft, and Tom feels guilty about the innocent Muff Potters arrest. Presumed dead, the boys enjoy the center of
the towns attention when they return for their own funeral. This return suggests a pattern of death and

resurrection, retreat from society and reunion. Toms return marks a greater sense of responsibility when, racked
by conscience, he reveals what he knows of the murder.
Adventure now becomes a reality for the boys as they discover that Joe has hidden a fortune and is plotting
revenge against the Widow Douglas. The treasure hunt and Toms romance with Becky merge in a maze-like cave
where Tom and Becky get lost and find Injun Joe hiding out with his stolen money. While Joe dies in the cave,
sealed in by unwitting townspeople, Tom and Becky emerge to community recognition, and Tom and Huck share in
the treasure retrieved from the cave.
The book ends happily with a unified society freed of a menace. Huck finds a guardian in the Widow Douglas,
whom he has saved from Joe, and Tom gains recognition for genuine heroism.

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The Adventures of Tom

Sawyer

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Characters
Tom Sawyer

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12/02/2014 (date taken from web)

TOM SAWYER
Character Analysis
Tom's a hard kid to pin down, and not just because he's always jumping fences, running off to
islands, and getting lost in caves. From a moral perspective, his actions are a bit confusing.
Sometimes he's admirable, but other times not so much. He's tricks his entire family heck, the
entire town into believing he's dead, and he takes great pride in doing so, but he can just as easily
demonstrate his remorse for the whole thing and kiss Aunt Polly on the cheek. He's always playing
hooky, but he's also saving lives Muff Potter would be a dead man without him.
With Huck, it's no different. Tom spurs him on to search for treasure, and tries to teach him the ways
of pirates and robbers, but he also tries to convince Huck to come back to the Widow's and live in
society like everyone else. It's like he's playing both sides.
Not confused yet? Consider this. We're all familiar with the Tom Sawyer, the tricky little tyke. But
what about Tom the self-sacrificer? Ring any bells? Maybe, maybe not. We can't blame you. It's not
quite as memorable or as funny as that fence whitewashing episode. But it does tell us something
important about Tom. To make a long story short: Becky rips the teacher's precious anatomy
textbook. When the mean teacher finds out, he goes down the line and asks each student if he or
she is responsible. Just when it looks like Becky's goose is cooked, Tom steps in and saves the day.

He takes the blame for the offense. Before you decide that this is a selfless act, take a look at this:
[W]hen he stepped forward to go to his punishment the surprise, the gratitude, the adoration that
shone upon him out of poor Becky's eyes seemed pay enough for a hundred floggings. Inspired by
the splendor of his own act, he took without an outcry the most merciless flaying that even Mr.
Dobbins had ever administered. (20.32)
Tom may be saving Becky a lot of pain and embarrassment, but he's also getting a lot pleasure from
his little stunt.
Now, here's the dilemma: it's hard to decide the exact nature of what Tom is doing, to figure out the
appropriate reaction to his little escapades. We laugh and smile at his cleverness when he shows up
at his own funeral, but we can't deny the insensitivity of such a trick. On the one hand we think, "Oh,
Tom, you're so clever!" and on the other we think, "How could you put the people that love you
through that?" The same principle operates when Tom takes the blame for ripping the anatomy
book. We want to praise Tom for his selflessness, but we can't avoid the fact that he's just doing it to
get attention, to get the girl. It's a masterful piece of manipulation, just like the whitewashing trick, but
it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.
You can take this all with a grain of salt; in fact, you should take it with one. Mark Twain wrote Tom
Sawyer primarily for children, but the darker aspects of the novel shouldn't be overlooked.

http://classiclit.about.com/od/tomsawyercrit/fr/aa_tomsawyer.htm

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Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

2014 About.com
12/02/2014 (date taken from web)

'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' Review

By Katharine Swan

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, like many of Mark Twain's other works, contains a good deal
of social commentary. But, at heart, the novel is a boy's story. Indeed, Mark Twain himself calls
the book "a history of a boy." He also states that the characters and plot are based on real people
and events in his own boyhood. The resulting tale is as lively as you could imagine.Tom Sawyer
is full of mischief. The main character, Tom, constantly searches for new adventures, new tricks
to play, or new ways to break the rules without getting into trouble.

On Whitewashing a Fence: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

One of the most famous scenes in Tom Sawyer is the whitewashing of the fence. After Tom gets
into trouble, Aunt Polly punishes him by making him whitewash the fence. Of course, Tom
manipulates other boys into completing the job for him. By the time the fence is finished, Tom
has become a wealthy boy as each boy was manipulated into buying a turn at the fence with their
treasures: marbles, firecrackers, bits of glass, and other objects.

The whitewashing scene is famous for a several reasons. First of all, the scene demonstrates an
interesting observation: "that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play
consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do." The scene is also memorable because this

classic manipulation is exactly the sort of thing that a rascal like Tom would do. The interaction
between him and the other boys paints a vivid picture of Tom's character.

On Playing Sick (and Playing Dead): The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

In another scene, Tom participates in the age-old scheme of playing sick in order to get out of
school. As often happens when children attempt to use melodrama to get their way, Tom's plan
backfires on him. Aunt Polly discovers from Tom's apology that the boy also has a loose tooth.
After Polly pulls the tooth out, Tom is sent to school anyway. In a way, though, being sent to
school worked out to his advantage. Suddenly school wasn't such a bad place to be, because now
he had something to show off to the other boys.
In a more tragic slant to his prankster personality, Tom's bought with being lovesick and
brokenhearted leads him to another "brilliant scheme." He decides to run away to become a
pirate, and he recruits two of his friends: Joe, a friend from school, and Huck, the homeless son
of the town drunk. They steal a raft and run away together. They camp out on an island in the
middle of the river for several days, playing a game of pirates.
But their absence leads the townspeople to fear that the boys had drowned in the river. By that
time homesickness had begun to set in, and the boys decide to return home. The subsequent
scene--where Tom, Joe, and Huck arrive at the church for their own funerals--is classic (and
unforgettable.

A Boy's Passion (or Heroics)?: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

In addition to all the pranks and rascally ways, Tom has a sentimental side to him. He woos
Becky Thatcher--despite the fact that he breaks the heart of his previous girlfriend, Amy
Lawrence, in the process.
Tom also demonstrates a heroic side. After witnessing a murder, Tom decides to testify in court.
In so doing, he rescues the poor drunk who has been wrongfully accused. He later saves the
Widow Douglas from attack, and finds Injun Joe's buried treasure--thereby becoming wealthy
and famous. Tom get himself into trouble on numerous occasions. It's true! But, he also
demonstrates a certain degree of honesty and goodness.

http://arghyajanaliteratureguide.blogspot.com/2011/09/critical-analysis-of-adventures-oftom.html

Arghya Jana Literature Guide

Critical analysis of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Thursday, 8 September 2011
12/02/2014 (date taken from web)

Author Dr. Arghya Jana

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a renowned book written by Mark Twain in the 19th
century. Tom Sawyer is a character who has lived on through the generations without losing
his popularity. Millions today still enjoy The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
The story takes place in Missouri in a small town nestled along the mighty Mississippi River. It
is a wonderful tale of a young boy and his propensity to find trouble with a capital T.
Tom Sawyer is a mischievous, yet kind-hearted, boy who lives with his Aunt Polly and brother
Sid. Tom and Sid's mother had passed away and Aunt Polly stepped in to mother the boys, but
she cannot bring herself to be strict with them, and Tom has an instinctual ability to exploit
this factor whenever it suits him.
Young Tom isn't a "bad" boy, but instead a thoughtful and sensible kid who happens to be a
magnet for trouble. The plot of "Tom Sawyer" centers around Tom's knack for finding himself
in the midst of many dilemmas which lead to adventure. He has an innate ability to read
people and can easily utilize human nature to work to his advantage.
Throughout the pages of "Tom Sawyer" you'll find Tom influencing others to perform his
chores while he scurries off to his next adventure. If he's not being persuasive, he has a
tendency to be manipulative such as convincing others to give him a favored toy or treat.
Tom also has a keen way of managing to sway others under the guise of fun. There is many a
time he convinces other boys to join him on journeys against their better judgment. Tom's
quick ability to use reverse psychology to turn the proverbial tables on both his friends and
nemesis works like a charm every time - almost.
As Tom finds himself on top of situations, he often finds himself in hot water such as the time
he traded all of the trinkets he manipulated from the other kids for tickets earned for

memorizing Bible verses. In the end he has more tickets than everyone and wins the award in
Sunday School. However when asked specific questions about the Bible he blurts out the
wrong answer and embarrasses himself.
Young Sawyer is very charismatic and he woos, and later wins the affection of Becky
Thatcher. He accomplishes this by using superb "show-off" techniques that boys this age tend
to use when wanting to impress a girl. It works smashingly and the two hit it off. He is later
spurned when Becky learns of a former relationship he had with another girl.
After getting in trouble with Aunt Polly for something Sid did, Tom becomes upset
and runs off with his pal Huckleberry Finn. The two boys later witness a murder and this is
where the story really begins to take off because the real murderer puts the blame on an
innocent man and Tom and Huck are the only ones who have witnessed what really happened.
The murderer is a violent man and Tom and Huck know if they tell on the murderer he will
extract revenge, and are too afraid to say anything about it, but they still feel guilty that a
man is in jail wrongly accused. Tom has this deeply embedded in his subconscious but on the
outside he is quickly back to his antics and fun-loving ways; but the murder weighs heavily on
his mind.
To get his mind off of the murder he puts together a band of pirates with his friends Joe
Harper and Huck Finn. While out on an "adventure" on the river and an island, it seems
somehow everyone in town thinks they've drowned. They use this misunderstanding to their
benefit and decide to take off and be "real" pirates. For days they play on an island and then
later to everyone's surprise show up at their own funerals. Aunt Polly is justifiably upset, but
later forgives Tom when she finds an undelivered note in his pocket which had expressed for
her not to worry.
Eventually the trial begins for the murder and the murderer has not confessed but instead
continues the charade that someone else committed it. Tom and Huck become more than a
bit nervous and swear to keep mum about what they saw. Tom later is struck by conscience
and tells the court what he saw; the murderer escapes and now Tom has to fear revenge.
The rest of the book continues with many various adventures, but all the while the escaped
murdered weighs heavily on Tom's mind. All of the preceding events lead to culminating
adventures which include another attempted murder, a cave, missing persons and buried
treasure.

Twain has an incredible ability to weave Tom's personal and leadership attributes into a story
which makes it appealing to both children and adults. Once you pick this book up you'll be
compelled to read it all the way through.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer centres on the exploits of Tom Sawyer - a mischievous little
boy who is endearing all the same. Set in the 1840's American mide-west, the story begins
with Aunt Polly searching for her rascal nephew, Tom. The narrative introduces us to Tom and
his myriad exploits. His rogue nature is further solidified in comparison with his half-brother,
Sid.
Early in the plot, the author uses a vignette to demonstrate the cunning of the main
character. Aunt Polly punishes him by making him whitewash the fence. Tom, disinclined to
spend time at this arduous task, tricks other boys into painting the fence for him simply by
making the activity appear to be loads of fun. So convincing is his act, that he inveigles the
other boys to bribe him to paint Aunt Polly's fence.
In the midst of the many exploits of Tom Sawyer is a tale of young love. Becky Thatcher, no
relation to Margaret, becomes the object of Tom's affection. After Tom successfully courts
Becky, his loose tongue puts a spoke in the wheel of their relationship. Another important
character in the plot is Huckleberry Finn, who will later have many adventures of his own.
Tom and Huck inadvertently become witnesses to a murder. In the cemetery, they witness
the body-snatching doctor being murdered by one of his two accomplices- Injun Joe. Injun
Joe pins the murder on Muff, who was knocked unconscious during the event. When the town
learns of the murder, the two boys observe Muff's arrest and confession to murder.
Tom, rejected by Becky and feeling unloved otherwise, decides to pursue a life of crime and
his pirate fantasy. After eloping with Huck and a guy named Joe Harper, he soon learns that
the townspeople think that the boys are dead after they were missing for a while. Tom
witnesses the grief of his Aunt Polly and decides to attend his own funeral, making a dramatic
entry.
There is a return to the subplots after this, like an intermission before the show resumes. In
one of these sub-plots, Tom rescues his sweetheart from punishment. Becky finally forgives
him after this deed. Unexpectedly, Tom is called to testify at Muff's trial and Muff is

exonerated. Injun Joe, the murderer, escapes. His shadow seems to hang over Tom from here
on. After a while, Tom and Huck encounter Injun Joe while they search for treasure in a
haunted house. Injun finds the treasure they were looking for and plots revenge against
someone. To his relief, Huck soon discovers that it is the Widow Douglas.
Huck runs for help and other townsfolk chase the men; just failing to catch them. Injun Joe
goes into hiding again. In the chaos, Tom and Becky get lost in the caves and are only
discovered missing the next day. They face a dwindling food supply. To their collective alarm
they discover that Injun Joe is hiding in the caves. Fortunately, he doesn't spot them and they
retreat.
In the end, the children are discovered by the goodly townsfolk before they perish. There's no
information on Injun Joe while they recover from the ordeal. It turns out that Injun Joe was
trapped in the sealed caves and dies. Tom and Huck immediately remember the treasure and
retrieve it. Widow Douglas announces her intention to adopt Huckleberry. Huck has his
finances invested on his behalf after Tom reveals his new money. The emphasis is now on
Huck, as he resents his forced civilization under Widow Douglas. He recaptures his liberty and
makes a pact with Tom. There are certainly more adventures ahead, at the conclusion of The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer- a precursor to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.