Tom Sawyer Character Analysis

Although loved by many, Tom Sawyer is the most selfish character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This could be the opinion of many people if it wasn’t for adult characters such as the Duke, the Dauphin, and Pap Finn; Tom Sawyer is a young boy, therefore, his antics are seen as comical and there is less resentment towards his character. The character of Tom Sawyer is extremely egocentric and selfish because he displays blatant disregard for the practical way to make plans in life-or-death situations, doesn’t understand the gravity of murder and robbery, and he will do anything, no matter how crazy or impractical, to make himself seem like a hero.

By failing to see the similarities in his and his wife’s actions, Tom believes he is right to accuse Daisy of her actions. His sense of morality was no longer one of a hard working man, but of a self indulged

It can also be considered an “opposites attract” scheme by Twain. As Tom has a stable, loving family and a home to go too. While Huck who is considered an orphan (due to being the town drunks son) sleeps where he wants, eats what he wants (if he can) and is never forced to go to school or do his “duties”. Most Importantly, Huck has fended for himself for years, and because of it has developed common sense beyond his years and grounding him self in his harsh reality. This is a stark contrast to Tom Sawyer, who creates worlds in his mind and has deep imagination. Even with all these differences Tom still envies the free spirited Huck and will go to great lengths to prove himself, even if Huck sees Tom as his closest friend already.

The theme that I think the story has presented was the growth of the character Tom. In the first part of this book Tom participated in many pranks and adventures not caring about the consequences that could happen after each prank or adventure. After witnessing a murder with his friend he shows a little bit of growth from the prankster he is. He had done the right thing to testify against Injun Joe. Doing the right thing helped him grow as a person and the reward of becoming more of an adult.” Auntie, I wish I hadn’t done it—but I didn’t think.” Chapter 19, pg.118 When Tom realized he had hurt aunt Polly by not telling her he was still alive. He tells her that he cares about her a lot. Tom had matured enough to take the blame for something he had not done to keep Becky out of trouble. Throughout the story he grew as a

Tom Sawyer lives in St Petersburg with his Aunt Polly and half-brother, Sid. Tom has to whitewash a fence but tricks his friends into paying him to do the chore for him, he also trades these items to get enough tickets to get a prize bible at Sunday School. Tom falls in love with a girl named Becky Thatcher and gets engaged to her, but she becomes upset when she hears that he was also engaged to a girl named Amy Lawrence. He and his friend

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

Tom doesn’t care about how his numerous affairs affect Daisy. He has been cheating on Daisy ever since they got back from their honeymoon, and he never felt guilty for it. Tom takes calls from his mistresses even though Daisy “[shakes] her head decisively.” (pg 15) He knows that Daisy knows about the affair, but still keeps having it like it is a secret.

The description given of Tom makes the reader have an uneasy feeling from the start, and that foreshadows the issues that happen later on. His biggest flaw is his inability of being content with something and sticking to it. The most prevalent thing is he cannot settle on his wife Daisy. He becomes disinterested in her, so he decides to find a new woman while continuing his relationship with his wife. The mistress is Myrtle Wilson. Without Tom’s commitment issues, the story would not have as much action because Myrtle is a key controversial character that causes quite a bit of drama. Tom, as well, has a sense of greed about him. He is never content in what he has, so he goes out to be better, get richer, and have the best. The best quote that depicts his issue of being content is, “I felt that Tom would drift on forever seeking a little wistfully for the dramatic turbulence of some irrecoverable football game” (10). He is so used to being the star of the show from playing football at Yale that he feels the need to be so much more, yet he cannot because he reached his peak of stardom early on. Furthermore, Tom is extremely arrogant. His arrogancy makes him think he is always right about everything even if he is not. For example, he is cheating on Daisy with Myrtle but becomes mad when Daisy starts getting feelings for other men. Tom says,

“There is no better test of a man’s integrity than his behavior when he is wrong.” (Marvin Williams). This story takes place in St. Petersburg, Missouri. Mark Twain, the author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, has another book, Huckleberry Finn. “Tom Sawyer hates boredom. So he makes life as exciting as possible – for everyone!”(Twain, back cover). Tom Sawyer, even though he can be a bezonian, has integrity because he helps his friends in indecent situations.

Tom’s Primary Reactions to the incident were despair and guilt. On the night of the accident, Tom cannot face his brother and is most afraid of Fin. In the wake of the carnage caused by accident, Tom experiences a different kind of fear Formerly popular, outgoing and successful, Tom finds it hard to be hated. What fears him the most is exposure, and humiliation it brings him. When Kylie tells the family’s secret in her school presentation, Tom is frightened he will have to endure the same vitriolic and public shaming that occurred in Mumbilli. He is paralysed by a sense of guilt: Daniel his brother and he could have stopped the incident from happening. The “letter of remorse” sent by nicoles family to the Brennan’s is particularly

While at church, Tom trades for little tickets which he gets for memorizing Bible verses. He lies about knowing the verses so that he can trade them in for a Bible and impress the Thatcher family. This shows lighthearted independence because he innocently lies just to get attention, especially from Becky. At one point Tom, because he likes Becky, takes a licking for her. Though a licking is very serious he grandstands in order to protect and get her attention. "A thought shot like lightning through Tom’s brain. He sprang to his feet and shouted—“I done it” (103). Tom shows lighthearted Independence in his behavior and this plays a role in the decisions that he makes.

Tom’s character, too, is hot-tempered and impatient, and like Biff, it is a parent that arouses this response in him. Tom is deeply discontented with his life and this shows in some of the confrontations he has with Amanda, where he is quick to react to her in anger. In response to her criticizing him and her referring to the house they live in as hers, Tom bellows, “House, house! Who pays rent on it, who makes a slave of himself to— […].”6 Tom seems to be a ticking time bomb and is quick to rise to anger when in conversation with his mother.

The main character in the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer learns numerous lessons throughout the course of the story. Tom Sawyer learns that there will always be consequences negative actions. For instance, Injun Joe brutally murders Doctor Robinson, and lies to make it seem as if someone else committed the crime. In the text it says, “... Tom stood dumb and staring, and heard the stonyhearted liar reel off his serene statement…” At the end of the story, he starves to death inside an unexplored cave system. Furthermore, he learns the importance of putting others’ necessities before your own. Tom’s selflessness is shown at school in the following quote: “‘Who tore this book?’ … He sprang to his feet and shouted- ‘I done it!’ … he took without

Tom's initial mindset was that he was vexed and frustrated. His Attitude was this way because he had to paint on a day when he had fun things orchestrated. But Something triggered in his head in which the mindset changed to apostatizing . He illuded his friends to do his job for him. Twain utilizes a plethora of conversation to show the interaction Tom had with his

Whilst Tom Sawyer is obviously self absorbed, he may also be seen as a hero in some eyes. Tom shows this heroic character in chapter 20, pages 126 -127. This chapter is about how Tom takes a whipping for Becky. Tom and Becky's sunday school teacher was always reading this book that no one else was allowed to see, so he locked it up in his desk. One day, the teacher leaves the key in the lock and Becky decides to look at the book. Tom was curious about what Becky was doing, so he went up to her to find out. She got scared and accidentally ripped a page in the book. When the teacher was trying to find out who did it, Becky looked guilty because she was the one who did it. But before the teacher found out who it was, Tom, audible from the other side of the schoolhouse, “heroically” said he did it and took the whipping for it. “...A thought shot like lighting through Tom’s brain. He sprang to his feet and shouted ‘I done it!’” (PUT PAGE NUMBER HERE) This was a heroic move because he took the blame for something Becky did so she did not have to get in trouble. Also, he likes Becky and he wanted her to think he was a nice person, and willing to do things for her.