Category: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

In the Adventures of Tom Sawyer written by Mark Twain, friendship and loyalty are concepts that are important in the lives of humans. In this novel, Tom makes new friends and new experiences. However, he especially treasures the bonds that he has with Huckleberry Finn and Becky Thatcher. With Huckleberry Finn, the author, Mark Twain shows how simple adventures, blood oaths and more can bring two people close together. Also, Twain illustrates how meaningful the feeling of love can be and how loyal Tom and Becky must be to build a relationship that will last for a long time. Therefore, the theme of this book is friendship and loyalty and can be recognized through many scenes and characters in this book.

One of the strongest points of friendship and loyalty between Tom and Huck is portrayed in the scene where the friends make a blood oath. Their friendship blossomed when they began sharing various superstitions that could cure warts. One particular superstition which they spoke about was entering a graveyard with a dead cat at midnight. According to Huck, eventually the “Devil follow corpse, cat follow devil, warts follow cat.” This led them to the scene where they entered the graveyard to try and put this superstition to the test and ended up witnessing the murder of Doctor Robinson. Later, they managed to escape the place they were in and forged a blood oath to keep mum or quiet about this unfortunate incident. “Now look-a-here, Tom, less take and swear to one another- that’s what we got to do- swear to keep mum.” “but there orter be writing ‘bout a big thing like this. And blood.” Here in these two quotes from the text, one could understand that the two friends exchanged much trust and loyalty to believe that each of them would keep mum about this dangerous murder after a blood oath. Therefore, the heights of friendship and loyalty between Tom and Huck could be understood well in this chapter.

Friendship and loyalty between Tom and Huck is also demonstrated when the two friends decide to run away from home on another adventure to Jackson’s Island. One night, Tom decides to return home and check on how his family members, Aunt Polly, Mary and Sid are coping. While he is hiding under the bed at home, Tom finds out that there will be a funeral for Huck, Joe and himself on a Saturday afternoon. As a result, on a Saturday afternoon, there was rustling in the gallery and the church door opened slightly; Tom, Huck and Joe had returned. Everyone was eccentric and Aunt Polly, Mary and the Harpers began to welcome Tom and Joe with warm hugs and kisses. Meanwhile, Huck was looked upon with many unwelcoming eyes and began to uncomfortably move away from the present situation. At this moment, Tom said, “Aunt Polly, it ain’t fair. Somebody’s got to be glad to see Huck.” He understood how Huck was feeling left out. When Tom stood up for Huck, their true friendship and loyalty were proved yet again. As a result, Huck was welcomed as well and also received Aunt Polly’s loving attention. Therefore, there was true friendship and loyalty that Tom felt towards Huck deep down in his heart.

Mark Twain also exhibits the friendship and loyalty between Tom and Becky. He first begins his conversation with Becky Thatcher when he is punished for playing hooky and is asked to sit next to her. Eventually, he admits that he loves her and becomes engaged to her. However, their relationship comes to an abrupt end, and as a result they make many attempts to make each other feel jealous by being with friends who are from the opposite genders. Later, they make up and go to an island together where they become lost. “Becky cried, and Tom tried to think of some way of comforting her.” Here, one can understand that Tom tries his best to support and look out for Becky. He was also willing to drown his fear in love in order to help his one and only Becky feel better. Also, “Tom said they must go softly and listen for dripping water- they must find a spring.” This example displayed the leadership that Tom wanted to show towards the suffering Becky. Overall, the friendship and loyalty of Tom and Becky were well illustrated in these chapters, truly and meaningfully.

In conclusion, Mark Twain successfully illustrated the theme of friendship and loyalty in this book. The friendship of Tom and Huck was exceptional and profound. They were willing to support each other in every situation and trust each other 100%. Additionally, whereas the friendship between Tom and Becky was rocky in the beginning, it improved gradually as they spent more time together. In fact, Tom was able to become mature enough to look after Becky and show loyalty to her all the way on the island when they were lost. Therefore, in the book, The adventures of Tom Sawyer, the author, Mark Twain was able to effectively display the importance of friendship and loyalty in a person’s life and how special it can make someone feel.

Even though Tom Sawyer is just a young boy in the chapter “Here a Captive Heart Busted,” his actions cross the boundary of child’s play and enter into the boundaries of wrongdoing. This comical, yet tedious chapter in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn gives insight into a main point of the novel, that Jim is a human being just like the whites and deserves to be treated like one. At this pre-Civil war time, most people conceive slaves to be sub-human, or half-human, which allows them clear consciences to sell and use them for labor. Needless to say, slaves were not allowed to escape. Runaway slaves like Jim were not sympathized as humans claiming freedom, but chastised for stealing property from their masters. Twain challenges us in this view, and uses the simple hearted Huck Finn to recognize human characteristics in him like love, kindness, and loyalty. After many chapters of this metamorphosis in Huck’s mind, Tom Sawyer enters the story. The way he treats Jim stands in sharp contrast to Huck’s way, and his absurd demands cause the reader to become exasperated. An evaluation of specific details leads us into a better understanding of Twain’s racial beliefs.

In the “Captive Heart” chapter, Tom demands Jim to do ten ridiculous tasks: each task originates in Tom’s notion that Jim must perform the role of an adventurous prisoner. These tasks are so ludicrous that even Huck has a hard time seeing the point. They are tediously described as “the work and bother of raising the mullen, and jew’sharping the rats, and petting and flattering up the snakes and spiders and things, on top of all the other work he had to on pens, and inscriptions, and journals, and things, which made it more trouble and responsibility to be a prisoner than anything [Jim] ever undertook”. One of Tom’s ideas is for Jim to write out a lengthy inscription explaining the woes of a prisoner on the side of the “prison” walls. Yet, Tom rejects the log walls because “they don’t have log walls in a dungeon: we got to dig the inscriptions in a rock”. Comically, the grindstone they choose is too heavy for the two boys to carry all the way that Jim has to slide out of his chain, walk out into the field, and carry it back with Huck. That the prisoner temporarily frees himself in order to fulfill conditions to be free is ironic, and it reveals that Tom regards Jim’s freedom as a game; unfortunately, Jim does not feel this way, his escape is a matter of rights, freedom, and his life. Tom and Jim’s different priorities create a conflict that pulls the readers to desire Tom to stop handling Jim’s life so haphazardly.

Another instance where Tom’s absurd notions are fulfilled at Jim’s expense occurs when Tom demands that Jim have a rattlesnake for a dumb pet. Tom expects Jim to tame it and pet it so that it will love Jim and follow him around everywhere. Scared fo “Jim, don’t act so foolish. A prisoner’s got to have some kind of a dumb pet there’s more glory to be gained in your being the first to ever try it than any other way you could ever think of to save your life”. Again, a conflict arises between Tom and Jim’s priorities; Whereas Tom is playing a game, Jim is negotiating his life and freedom. The structure Twain uses here causes readers to protest that it does not matter if Jim gains any glory by being a pretend prisoner. Instead, readers are encouraged to sympathize with him and want him to become free. Furthermore, it is clear that Jim is not the fool, but rather Tom. Yet, because Jim is a slave, he must submit to any whimsical idea Tom may have because he is white. Through such interactions, Twain leads readers to recognize a great injustice in slavery.

There is only so much nonsense that Jim can take. Every preposterous new idea adds to his frustration. He finds “so much fault with [having an onion sent to him in his coffee], and with the work and bother of raising the mulllen, and jew’s harping the rats, and petting and flattering up the snakes and spiders and things, on top of al the other work he had to do on pens, and inscriptions, and journals, and things, which made it more trouble and worry and responsibility to be a prisoner than anything he ever undertook, that Tom most lost all patience with him”. Here, Jim’s complaints can be understood and forgiven because they are so acceptable. Although Jim should have the right to protest these ridiculous ideas, Tom loses patience with Jim the one who thinks with reason and clarity. He counters that Jim “was just loadened down with more gaudier chances than a prisoner ever had in the world to make a name for himself, and yet he didn’t know enough to appreciate them, and they was just about wasted on him. So Jim he was sorry, and said he wouldn’t behave so no more”. Readers are allowed to witness a sensible adult man under the controls of a silly young boy. Readers can sympathize that Jim is forced to try to make a name for himself as a prisoner, when all he wants to do is be free and be united with his family. He is even forced to appease his white friend by apologizing that he is behaving wrongly. Such a humble admission causes Jim’s character to be viewed as noble and friendly. No doubt, Twain forms these details to comment that Jim is a human who is capable of thinking and making decisions. Readers are made to feel that it is an injustice for Jim to be subject to Tom’s whims.

Chapter thirty-eight of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn elaborately depicts the schemes of a young boy to create a fanciful adventure about a captive prisoner. As charming as this plot is, it loses its fun when the prisoner turns out to be a real slave. Tom’s attempts at fun are so out of place that readers become frustrated that Jim is forced to perform such stupid and unnecessary tasks. Tom’s requests and attitude show that he does not take Jim seriously as a human being. This attitude contrasts to that of Huck who has learned to value Jim through the relationship he formed with Jim on the river. Mark Twain fashions these details to infuriate readers at the injustice of slavery and challenges them to regard former slaves as whole human beings. To treat them negligibly is to be as outlandish as Tom Sawyer.

Children as a whole have a propensity to rebel and cause mischief when they are younger, but this trait tends to disappear as they face challenges and begin to grow up. Mark Twain’s classic novel from 1876, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, follows the title character through his many unusual exploits and displays his development into a more conscientious young man. This novel was partly written for the purpose of giving adults a look back at their youth, in an instructive manner; after all, Tom starts out as an immature boy, then begins to exhibit signs of entering adulthood as he faces increasingly challenging mental and physical circumstances. Although Twain initially establishes Tom as reckless and irresponsible, his development through his encounter at the graveyard and his experience on Jackson Island prove that children may behave immaturely but have a tendency to become more mature as they face hardships.

Tom’s growth was first displayed through the calamity he witnessed at the graveyard and his decision to step forward for the purpose of proving Muff Potter’s innocence. At first, Tom and Huck Finn essentially ignored the option of speaking out and saving Potter, because they “…wouldn’t be alive two days if that got found out” Both of these boys were originally too scared for their well-being to speak out against Injun Joe and tell the truth. However, as the story progresses, Tom Sawyer displays growth in maturity and decision-making and begins to seriously consider that option. Additionally, Tom’s fear of Injun Joe and for his life prevented him from speaking once on the stand, but “… the boy got … his strength back, and managed to put enough of it into his voice to make part of the house hear…”. Tom’s decision to make the moral choice and to put his life on the line to save Muff Potter’s was a noble one. This decision was mainly caused by the internal struggle he went through before Muff Potter’s trial, proving that hardships are what mature children.

Moreover, after his rough encounter with Becky, Tom Sawyer impulsively makes the decision to leave with his friends Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn to Jackson Island. In the beginning of their stay, Joe brings up the idea of going back to civilization, but “Tom withered him with derision… Mutiny was effectually laid to rest for the moment”. At first, he is too concerned with enjoying his freedom to realize how much pain he is causing his family. However, Tom changes his mind after giving the issue additional thought, and visits them for the purpose of putting their minds at ease. Not only that, but he later justified his actions to Aunt Polly, stating that he came back “…to tell you [Aunt Polly] not to be uneasy about us, because we hadn’t got drownded”. His explanation is received well by his aunt, who is pleasantly shocked by his considerate thoughts, saying that this thoughtfulness would cover up a number of sins. The challenges he faced during his stay on the island and after he returned to civilization helped him develop his decision-making skills.

Tom explores a further adventure, with only Huckleberry Finn this time, gaining more valuable lessons as a result. Tom and Huck are trying to find buried treasures while acting as pirates near a haunted house, but cannot proceed due to their own beliefs that “sometimes witches [would] interfere [along with]…dead people [and]…ghosts… on an [unlucky] day,…Friday”. However, both of them are able to conquer their fears and move on with the adventure. Tom and Huck are no longer dependent children anymore, but instead have transformed into brave teenagers, able to figure out the issues by themselves. During this adventure, Tom and Huck also ask each other what they are “going to do with [their own] share [of money]”. Neither had understood the value of money until that very moment. Tom and Huck discover that they must be able to manage and be responsible with their money, which will benefit them in the future.

Through the challenging decisions that Tom Sawyer makes, Mark Twain proves that maturity occurs gradually, and that any difficulties faced along the way accelerate the child’s growth. He displays this conception multiple times throughout the novel, but there are a few instances in which this theme is exemplified most noticeably. Sawyer learns through his challenges during the ordeal involving Muff Potter and Injun Joe, and struggles to make the right decision. Additionally, he makes a considerate, thoughtful choice after his experiences on Jackson Island. Although at first Tom Sawyer makes immature decisions, he takes immense leaps in maturity throughout the novel, acquiring characteristics crucial to his future on the way.