The Themes Of Tom Sawyer

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer appears in St Petersburg and at the Phelps’ farm as Huck Finn’s companion. Though Tom serves as Huck’s partner-in-crime of sorts, the two boys contrast in crucial perceptual and behavioral aspects: where Tom possesses a love for romanticism and a strict policy of adherence to societal conventions and codes, Huck possesses a skeptical sort of personality in which he tends to perceive society’s infatuations as frivolous. Tom’s presence represents an overlying trend in behavior for Mark Twain’s era wherein individuals adhere to an idealistic social code that justifies the subjugation of others for the entertainment of the privileged populus. In this regionalist critical novel, Mark Twain uses Tom Sawyer as a vehicle to reveal the dangers of an idealistic society and how idealism leads to society rationalizing its day-to-day standards; thereby, its idealism serves to hide the questionable moral behaviors prevalent in Twain’s era.

Once joyful and passionate, Tom becomes a mere shadow of who he once was, completely shutting down with only his conscience to keep him company. Steinbeck describes him as “high and prim” (409) after Dessie’s funeral, demonstrating the extent to which he has removed himself from the world of the living. One would expect him to be hysterical after accidentally killing his sister, but his grief takes the form of dangerous dissociation and he is left unable to cope with the consequences of his well-intentioned actions. It is this dissociation that marks Tom’s transition from lively to brooding, his mental state deteriorating as he spends a short yet torturous time alone in his family’s ranch home. The suicide itself is scarcely described, leaving the reader only with the idea that Tom was a “gallant gentleman” (410). Steinbeck’s tacit explanation carries with it some irony, as most would consider running away from one’s problems neither gallant nor gentlemanly. Tom is so absorbed in his shortcomings that he sees fit to end his life as a means to end his suffering without regard to how suicide will affect his family and

At the beginning of Huck’s narration, he immediately mentions his previous adventures with Tom Sawyer; by instinctively introducing himself in terms of Tom’s story, Huck demonstrates that he thinks of himself more as a supporting character to Tom’s life than the protagonist to his own. This belief also compels Huck to listen to Tom’s advice. When the Widow Douglas decides to civilize Huck, he initially runs away in disgust, but Tom ultimately convinces him to stay. Huck explains, “But Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable. So I went back,” (1). Tom’s influence outweighs Huck’s instinct to escape civilization, and Huck instead chooses to try to become “respectable” like Tom. Despite Huck’s multiple sets of ideologies, the values he adopts from Tom Sawyer prevail as the most influential and serve as a guide for many of Huck’s

“Tom consoled himself for the loss of his property with the loss of his wife, for he was man of fortitude. He felt something like gratitude towards the black woodman, who he considered, had done him a kindness” (5).

1. The death of Jim Casy completes the transformation of Tom Joad into a man ready to take responsibility for the future and to act accordingly. Throughout the novel, Casy acts as Steinbeck’s moral spokesperson, articulating several of the book’s more important themes, such as the holiness of human life and the necessary unity of all mankind. In this quote the theme of unity is exemplified by Tom. Tom takes and stand and unites with mankind to fight any problems that come in the way. He realizes that he is needed and is willing to take the responsibility. These lines show readers the end of Tom’s transformation and show him as a complete person ready to fight any future problems. Through Tom’s tone of confidence readers mirror the change which

For example, Tom finally builds up the courage and strength to get back inside because “he thought of Clare – just wordless, yearning thought – and then drew his arm back just a bit more, fist so tight his fingers pained him, and knowing he was going to do it” (19-20). The thought of seeing Clare again and spending time with her allowed him to see his life in a better perspective and to want to become a changed man. Tom’s driving force in life is no longer his passionate ambition and determination to achieve his goals, but now is his beloved wife. In addition, when Tom leaves his apartment to go find his wife, he saw “the yellow paper, the pencil flying, scooped off his desk and, unimpeded by the glassless window, sail out into the night and out of his life” (20). Tom finally let go of his yellow paper and all the pressure it bestowed on him. He sees the thing that caused him to lose numerous hours, which he could have spent with Clare, disappear from his life. He realizes that his career and his ambition to succeed are not worth it and are not as important to him anymore. As a result, Tom becomes a changed man who now knows that having something as special as a person who loves and cares about him is more rewarding than anything his career can offer

While the ship is sinking, a nearby sailor tells Huck “great goodness, there ain’t no chance for ‘em if they don’t git off mighty quick!” (Twain 76). Twain’s satire towards the sinking Walter Scott exemplifies his ongoing opposition towards romantics and their unrealistic ideals. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s sensible topics discussing how morals clash with societal views oppose the imaginary focal point in romanticism. Because of their lack to recreate the real world, Twain uses irony of the sinking Walter Scott to emphasize the declining romanticism ideals. Last, Twain satirizes the irrationality seen in society through the antics of Tom Sawyer. When Huck and Tom try to break Jim out of enslavement after the King and Duke sold him to Tom’s Aunt Sally for forty dollars, Huck explains a simple plan of getting the raft, stealing the key to the padlock, then unlocking the door so Jim can then float down the river some more unnoticed. Unimpressed, Tom replies “I should hope we can find a way that’s a little more complicated than that, Huck Finn” (Twain 236). After carrying out one of Tom’s

Mark Twain uses Tom to show that not all leaders should be followed without question because if a leader is not questioned than their misshapen beliefs can corrupt the good intentions of the people below them. When Huck originally planned to free Jim he had constructed a simple plan to free Jim from captivity. When Tom became part of the plan he argues that the plan “it’s too blame’ simple; there ain’t nothing TO it. What’s the good of a plan that ain’t no more trouble than that?”. This shows that Tom is fully invested in the story of the mighty rescue of a slave but he was not invested in the true nature of going against society and free a man who they deemed belonged in captivity. Tom is a man who lives to be part of romanticized stories

Normally, Tom would react to his aunt's punishments by fooling her into not giving them, but this time, he pleaded for forgiveness! This highlights that Tom is scarred for life, not thinking like himself. If he does something bad, he feels guilty for it. "They began to feel a vague fear that they

Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” commences off with a rather interesting note to the readers: “you don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, but that ain’t no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly” (1). Right from the beginning, the well-known and highly criticized Mark Twain portrays a personal connection between the main character and himself. Although not stated, it is presumed that Mr. Twain may share a similar outlook on life as Huckleberry Finn (to an extent). Our young protagonist is nothing short of engaging; he is depicted to be biologically motherless (deceased) and abused by the hands of his alcoholic biological father.

Tom Sawyer in the novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, Tom shows his values through his actions. Like for example when he comes up with a plan to get out of his punishment of whitewashing the fence. Tom tricks the other local boys into thinking that painting the fence wasn’t work, but actually great fun. This makes the boys want to give up their treasures to paint. By tricking the boys to get he wants, Tom learns that he can get what he wants, like his freedom and fun. In the story the author says, “Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a manor a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain”.

“Tom’s most well now, and got his bullet around his neck on a watch-guard for a watch, and is always seeing what time it is, and so there ain’t nothing more to write about, and I am rotten glad of it, because if I’d ’a’ knowed what a trouble it was to make a book I wouldn’t ‘a’ tackled it, and ain’t a-going to no more. But I reckon I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before” (Twain 276).

“Treat Others How You Want to be Treated” “It takes change to make change” – Anonymous. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, authored by Mark Twain, is about Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher who live in sleepy St. Petersburg who originally are careless kids but turn more compassionate among other traits. Mark Twain persuades the reader to know using colloquialisms to prove that change is possible. Foremost, Tom changes from a mean bully to a caring soul. For example, when a new boy moves into town, Tom sizes him up and they exchange a few harmless words, however Tom yells, “I can lick you!”

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” (Mark Twain). In the story, Tom on his friends go on all sorts of adventures and live their lives to the fullest. They never hold back in the decisions that they make and they do not care about what they need to do to make it the best they can. One of the themes that Mark Twain explores in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is adventure can lead to many different situations. Three examples that support this theme are when Tom and Huck witness a murder, people think Tom, Joe, and Huck are dead, and when Tom and Becky get lost in a cave and almost die.

He cannot sit still; he is always looking for an aberration. Tom Sawyer is adventurous, passionate, and full of wild imagination, and in particular instance of his mischievous ways he has a great heart. The novel opens with Tom Sawyer being searched for by his Aunt Polly due to him playing hooky from school. She has Tom whitewash the fence as his punishment. The whitewashing scene is argued to be the most famous scene in American Literature. He is best remembered for getting a number of other boys to whitewash the fence for him, and that’s how the character Tom Sawyer is and that’s what makes him such a clever character. Tom is known as the attractive bad boy and his younger brother Sid being the prudish child in the family. The reader in the novel is on Tom Sawyers side from this point onward. Tom Sawyers friend Huckleberry Finn is introduced by the narrator as a “juvenile pariah of the village” and as a “romantic outcast”. Huck is agreeably hated and horrifying to all mothers of St. Petersburg but secretly admired by their children. Huck’s father is the town drunk. Huck sleeps around the town in hogs head barrels and/or on doorsteps. He lives on his own rules and does only what he wants. He wears men’s clothing, he smokes, and he swears. Tom Sawyer and his friend Huckleberry Finn sneak out to a cemetery at night with a full moon. They both try to cure warts by using a dead cat when they unintentionally witness a