Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Mark Twain

Mark Twain’s 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is about a youngster growing up beside the Mississippi River.It takes set in the 1840s in Twain’s hometown of Hannibal is the inspiration for St. Petersburg, Missouri. Throughout the story, Tom Sawyer has numerous adventures, the most of which he shares with his companion Huckleberry Finn. Despite being a commercial failure at the time, the book went on to become Twain’s best-selling work.

Despite being overshadowed by its sequel, Huckleberry Finn’s Adventures, the work is largely considered a classic of American literature. It was one of the first typewriter novels ever published.

Learn about the major themes in Tom Sawyer’s story

This novel is primarily about growing up as a boy. It’s Mark Twain’s first novel, and it’s as if he was reliving his own upbringing in a little town in southern America in the mid-nineteenth century while writing it.

Tom Sawyer is a young kid who lives on the Mississippi River with his Aunt Polly. He appears to like getting into mischief the most. Tom is given the chore of whitewashing a fence after missing school one day (and getting into a fight). However, he turns the punishment into a form of fun by enlisting the help of other lads to complete the task. He persuades the lads that the chore is a great honour, and he is rewarded with modest, valuable trinkets.

Around this period, Tom falls in love with Becky Thatcher, a young girl. He goes through a whirlwind affair with her and becomes engaged to her before she rejects him after learning about Tom’s prior engagement to Amy Lawrence.He makes an attempt to reclaim Becky, but it fails miserably. He tries to give her a gift, but she declines it. Tom, humiliated, flees and devises a strategy to escape.Around this time, Tom meets Huckleberry Finn, who would go on to become the title character in Twain’s next and most acclaimed novel. Huck and Tom plan to meet at midnight in the cemetery to test a wart-curing technique involving a dead cat.The lads meet at a cemetery, which leads to the novel’s key event, in which they witness a murder. Injun Joe murders Dr. Robinson and blames it on the inebriated Muff Porter. Injun Joe is completely ignorant that the youngsters had witnessed his actions.

He and Huck make an oath of silence because they are afraid of the ramifications of this information. When Muff is arrested for Robinson’s murder, Tom gets severely depressed.Tom and Huck flee with their friend Joe Harper after yet another rejection from Becky Thatcher. They go to Jackson’s Island after stealing some food. They aren’t long there when they come upon a search party hunting for three lads who are assumed drowned and realise they are the boys in issue.

They go through with the act for a while and then reveal themselves at their “funerals,” striding into the church to their families’ surprise and dismay.

During the summer vacation, Tom continues to flirt with Becky with limited success. Overcome with guilt, he eventually testified at Muff Potter’s trial, exonerating him of Robinson’s murder. Potter is let free, and Injun Joe flees through a courtroom window.However, this isn’t Tom’s final encounter with Injun Joe. He and Becky (now reconciled) get lost in one of the caves at the end of the book. Tom comes across his arch-enemy here.Tom manages to elude his grasp and find his way out, alerting the locals, who close up the cave while leaving Injun Joe within.Our hero, on the other hand, is made delighted when he and Huck discover a box of gold (that originally belonged to Injun Joe) and have the money invested for them. Tom achieves happiness, and Huck, to his chagrin, gets respectability through adoption.

• The two kids present as two different perspectives of impending adulthood as the narrative concludes. Despite this, they remain close because of their strong friendship. Such companionship is a feature of boyhood that Mark Twain recommends as enduring wisdom – a friendship that will last a lifetime.

Hypocrisy in society

Twain confuses Tom’s position on the edge of childhood and adulthood by mocking and criticising the adult world’s beliefs and practices, which Tom is approaching. Twain’s most scathing satire exposes the hypocrisy—and, in many cases, the fundamental childishness—of societal institutions like school, church, and the law, as well as public opinion. He also mocks individuals, however he is less stinging and focuses on defects of character that we all recognise.

Social Exclusion Provides Freedom

Outsiders are easily detected in St. Petersburg, which is a closed community. Huck Finn, who fends for himself outside of any family structure since his father is an alcoholic; Muff Potter, who is also a drinker; and Injun Joe, a hostile half-breed, are among the most noteworthy local outsiders. Despite its evident division of outsiders and insiders, the group appears to have a great desire to be inclusive. Even though he lives on the outskirts of society, the town tolerates the alcoholism of a harmless rascal like Muff Potter, and Huck is more or less protected. Tom, like the other orphans, has been taken in by Aunt Polly out of love and filial piety. Injun Joe is the only person that lives in St.Petersburg, who is fully cut off from society. Only after Injun Joe’s death are the townspeople able to turn him into a decent member of St. Petersburg society by manipulating his memories.

Conclusion

The moral teachings acquired in this book serve as a reminder to children to listen to their elders, respect the rules, and understand the value of being a loyal friend. Huckleberry Finn was adopted towards the end of the novel, and when he tried to flee, Tom approached him and told him that if he returned to his new home, he could join his rubber band. Huck returned to the widow as a result, and his life began to feel more normal. The book teaches us not to pass judgement on others based on their upbringing. Huck grew up as the town drunk’s son, but he had a lot of heart and compassion that people ignored.