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The End Of The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, By Mark Twain

Decent Essays

As most people get older they have experiences that help them to mature. They become more respectful, they work harder, they are more focused, and they respond appropriately to their situations. ByAt the end of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, the main character, Tom, has had several dangerous and amusing experiences that show that although he is not completely mature, Tom Sawyer is more emotionally, mentally, and morally mature than when the story began; therefore proving that Tom Sawyer has come-of-age in the novel. Tom’s emotional maturity definitely grows throughout the story. At the beginning of the story, Tom acts selfishly when he thinks that he is unloved. Instead of thinking about what he might have done to hurt …show more content…

Tom apologizes to Aunt Polly and tells her the whole story of what happened the night he was at his house. He feels bad about running away and learns that his actions can hurt other people. When he realizes what he did, learns from it, and acts selflessly, he grows in emotional maturity. At the end of the story, Tom is more emotionally mature than he is at the beginning of the story, but still not fully mature. Tom grows more in his mental maturity as well. When Tom is at Sunday School, he wants to win a Bible, not to have a Bible, but to get the fame and glory that came with winning it. “It is possible that Tom 's mental stomach had never really hungered for one of those prizes, but unquestionably his entire being had… longed for the glory and the eclat elat that came with it” (Twain 36). This attitude shows he is immature because the reasons students got the Bible is because they memorized Bible verses. Tom is not interested in learning anything he just wants to be the center of attention. Later in the book Tom shows he values knowledge. When Tom uses the kite string to find a way out of the cave, he is showing mental maturity. He is assessing his situation like an adult and using what he has to find a solution. “He took a kite line from his pocket, tied it to a projection, and he and Becky started” (Twain 287). Instead of giving in to his fears, Tom uses his head to find a solution to a

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