TOM THE DYNAMIC CHARCHTER

Sofia LeClaire

English 6,Period 6

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In Mark Twains The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom, the main character,
changes from a quick-witted, mischievous little boy to the towns hero. Tom shows his
skill of being quick - witted when he was caught with jam all over his face, then
distracting his Aunt and running off with the jam. As the pages pass, Tom soon changes to
a caring, giving, selfless boy. Tom is a mischievous, yet kind-hearted boy. 1
Tom can be mischievous, but there are other likeable character traits. Although Tom is
quite the mischievous boy, he is also very caring. For example, Tom shows his care for
Becky when he, out of nowhere, took the blame for one of Beckys mistakes. In the book
it quotes; A thought shot like lightning through Toms brain. He sprang from his feet and
shouted- I done it! 2. Tom has changed from a naughty young boy to a caring young
man. In conclusion, Tom shows from this example, the change, from a static to more of a
dynamic character.
In addition to Tom being caring, he is also giving. Tom shows his giving trait when Muff Potter
needs someone to talk to. Huck and Tom decide to visit Muff and bring him some gifts. The
boys as they had often done went to the cell grating and gave Potter some tobacco and matches.3
They also try to get him to feel less guilty so they talk to him, and they get him to feel better.
Overall, Tom is changing as the pages pass from a naughty, ornery little boy to now a giving,
caring boy.
Although he can be caring and giving, he can also be selfless. For example, Tom was selfless and
helped Becky in the cave. He thought about her feelings first before his own. He sat down by
1 (Critical Analysis of The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer n.d.)
2 (Twain 2001) p.150
3 Ibid p.167

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her and put his arms around her4; He obviously really cares about Becky and is not now just
thinking about himself but about other people. At last, there are all of Toms major character
traits, caring, giving, and selfless. Overall, the statement of him being dynamic seems to be true
then him to be static.
Above all, Tom has changed from a mischievous, quick-witted, little boy to a caring, giving,
selfless young man. In the beginning of the story Toms shows his potential of a dynamic
character when Tom starts to look out about how people feel and care for them. For example, in
the book he shows that he cares when he takes the blame for what Becky did. Secondly, Tom is
also giving when he visits Muff Potter and gives him assortments of gifts. Another one of Toms
strong characteristic is when he for once does not think about how he feels but how other people
feel. Such as when Tom and Becky were in the cave and Tom makes Becky feel better. In the
end, Tom gains recognition for genuine heroism.5

4Ibid p.223
5 (Tom Sawyer Themes and Characters n.d.)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Critical Analysis of The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer." Argyha Jana Litature Guide.
n.d. http://arghyajanaliteratureguide.blogspot.com/2011/09/critical-analysisof-adventures-of-tom.html (accessed December 2, 2014).
"Tom Sawyer Themes and Characters." Novel Expolorer. n.d.
http://www.novelexplorer.com/tom-sawyer/themes-and-characters-70/
(accessed 12 2, 2014).
Twain, Mark. The Adventure of Tom Sawyer . Missouri, 2001.

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