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The adventures of tom sawyer summary essay
The adventures of tom sawyer summary essay
The adventures of tom sawyer summary essay
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Often times, people view Tom Sawyer as inherently mean, but after reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I believe Tom's upbringing led to his behaviors. Throughout the whole novel, Tom goes on various adventures and behaves in a way that many people interpret as immature and selfish. Tom Sawyer's situation explains his behaviors because Aunt Polly struggles to discipline, Tom is still just growing up, and Tom Sawyer wants to receive the attention he lacks from not having a mother and father.
To begin with, Aunt Polly has an internal struggle to discipline Tom. Tom repeatedly acts out against her, but Aunt Polly does not really do anything to stop him. For example, in the beginning of the novel, Aunt Polly finds out that Tom went against her
word and went swimming after school. Tom, then, tricks her and runs away before Aunt Polly can even scold him. After Tom has left, Aunt Polly states, "I ain’t doing my duty by that boy, and that’s the Lord’s truth, goodness knows. Spare the rod and spile the child, as the Good Book says. I’m a-laying up sin and suffering for us both, I know. He’s full of the Old Scratch, but laws-a-me! he’s my own dead sister’s boy, poor thing, and I ain’t got the heart to lash him, somehow. Every time I let him off, my conscience does hurt me so, and every time I hit him my old heart most breaks" (page 2). Aunt Polly reveals to the reader that she loves and cares for Tom greatly, but struggles with showing him love, while at the same time being an authority figure. This would affect Tom's behavior because he has no consequences for his disobedience, thus encouraging the misbehavior. In addition, Tom's approximate age in this novel is 12 years old. It is not uncommon to see boys playing pranks on each other at his age. Tom shows this typical boyhood behavior in chapter 2. Aunt Polly instructed Tom to whitewash the fence as part of his chore for the summer. Tom started off by cleaning them until Aunt Polly left. He proceeded to get other boys' attention and make it seem like whitewashing fences was interesting; he had them do the job for him. Most children at his age would do anything to get out of chores and would have done the exact same thing that Tom did. Tom's behavior in this situation is not a characteristic of his personality, but rather immaturity because he is an adolescent. Finally, Tom Sawyer causes trouble in the town because he wants attention from people. He thrived off people looking at him in awe when he showed up at his own funeral after he, Huck, and Joe ran away from their houses and lived off the land as pirates for about a week. Tom wanted the attention so much that he withheld telling Aunt Polly that he was alive, even when he saw that she was a mess from thinking he had died. I think he wants this attention because he seeks the love and attention he would have received from his father and mother. Also, Tom is at his best when Aunt Polly shows him attention and praise. On the other hand, when she does attempt to scold Tom, he does the opposite of what she says. Tom will do whatever it takes to have any type of attention, negative or positive, to fill the void of his parents. In the end, Tom's mischievous conduct can be better explained through his environment, rather than his innate character. Tom has good intentions for what he does, but it is often perceived as deceptive. Aunt Polly's struggle to discipline, Tom's age, and Tom lacking a mother and father are all factors that can explain his troublesome behavior in the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
A selfish person does the most harm to others by caring only for themself. Being selfish means not considering others in each situation, or being self-centered. Tom repeatedly shows just how selfish he is by what he says and does. His actions prove that he does not care about how situations affect others, only himself. It is important to recognize when you are selfish to others. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tom is the most selfish character,
Here Tom stands up for himself, yet at the beginning of the story we see that Tom was too scared to reply to his parents when they were fighting, but now he can stand up for himself. This is illustrated when Tom thinks to himself, “I was thinking that I might take a drink to my father, but dared not as yet suggest it” (Ross 221). This little outburst from Tom shows that he is trying to make his voice and opinions be heard over the adults. He wants to be heard and wants to be seen like a responsible person and is trying with some, but little avail. Tom also tries to work against fate by trying to teach Phillip how to stook.
But he is not in any way greatful for any of it. Despite everything Tom has he still belittles others, and cheats on Daisy. Tom has a racial attitude, for example, he disapproves interracial marriage. He is very egoistic and has a high opinion of himself. Even more supporting that he has no morals and a dark side also, Tom's affair with Myrtle Wilson also supports the conclusion that he's quite the
Importance/Analysis: This scene instantly made me admire Tom. His actions and revelation demonstrate how clever and mischievous he is and how he utilizes his power over the other boys for his own personal gain. Tom is aware that he is smarter and more mature than the others and takes advantage of that. This scene drew me into the book and had me wondering what clever ploy Tom Sawyer would pull next to entertain me.
The needle pricked the finger to let the blood drip on to the peace of pine shingle to finalize the oath that was to keep them "mum" (76) about the murder they had just witnessed. Mark Twain's book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1985) takes place in the mid 1800's and tells the adventures of Tom Sawyers adventures. The adventures started out with Tom and his friend, Huckleberry Fin, sneaking out and accidentally being witnesses to a murder. They then promise to never tell a word of it. Throughout the book they forgot about the murder and decide to go and play pirates and search for gold, but a trial about the murder finally comes, and it is haunting Tom because an innocent person, Muff Potter, is about to be executed. Tom opens his mouth to tell who the murderer was and then both Tom and his friend are in danger of being the next victims, but fate catches up with the murderer and he starves in a cave when the door is locked shut. The novel's finale is Tom and Huck finding the chest of gold, which made them both prosper with wealth. Throughout the novel, Twain uses a great approach to making the novel a very good read because of the fascinating characterization of Tom Sawyer. The dominant techniques that Twain uses to characterize Tom as an adventurous young man are his appearance, his thoughts, what others think of him, his actions, and his speech.
Tom can now start to show his maturity everywhere, including at home. In the beginning, Tom is running from Aunt Polly's punishments, hurries through chores, and plays hooky from school. When he convinces kids to do his job of whitewash the fence for him, it shows immaturity. Also when he runs away from home to the island, he doesn't leave a note.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, is a captivating novel chronicling the adventures of a young boy, Tom Sawyer, along the Mississippi River. Since its publication in 1816, it has become a literary classic that has captured America's imagination. Because of the novel’s catholic appeal, dynamic yet realistic plot, and unorthodox use of language, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has made its way onto the bookshelves of millions of Americans.
Uncle Tom disallowed his recognition as an authoritative figure to become egocentric. Tom prayed with, "touching simplicity" and "childlike earnestness" (Stowe 35). As Tom's character develops, the reader can identify the sincere humility, loyalty, and submission of his heart. Despite the austere conditions of the time, Tom uses his social gifts to be a light to those he comes in contact with.
We do not know much about Tom’s childhood; however it is clear that his life has progressed into a sociopathic lifestyle. We do know that, “[His] parents died when [he] was very small” and that “[He] was raised by [his] aunt in Boston.” (25) He disliked his aunt, hated her, and wanted to kill her.
Because of him working in the warehouse and having to put his dreams on hold, it seems to make him bitter and rude to his mother. His mother puts a lot of pressure on him with working and making the money to pay the bills. Also his mother is always getting mad when he goes out. In the play Tom snaps at his mother one night after she’s nags him about going out, some of the stuff he said wasn’t necessary, but we all say things we don’t mean when we are upset. His mother does work by trying to sell magazines, but during this time period the Great Depression was going on so it was hard on everyone with money.
Sometimes he doesn’t earn it but he attempts to get out of his responsibilities. Tom is always envying Huck for his lethargic lifestyle. His Aunt Polly is not a fan of freedom she thinks that boys should do their chores and be civilized.
Tom Wingfield is a determined young man. He has decided against everyone else in his family's wishes that he wants to leave the dismal life of a factory job, to pursue a chance in the Merchant Marines. He realizes that he would be running off like his father and this is probably the only thing that kept him from leaving this long. Amanda, Tom's mother, deep down knows the day is coming that Tom will leave. She says "But not till there's someone to take your place." She wants Laura, if not herself to be taken care of. At that moment in the play Tom is the breadwinner in the family and up to this point Tom is the underpriviledged child that wants to move on. He wants to pursue his dream, a more adventurous life. Tom was a likable character until we find out he didn't pay the electric bill with the intended money. When Jim is over and he says "I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill". At this point, Tom becomes a more selfish character. There is less sympathy given in his direction. In fact, this is probably where we feel a little more sorry for Amanda.
Sawyer’s Aunt Polly punished him frequently. She made him whitewash their fence when he skipped school. She also tried to punish him, instead of his little brother, when he was caught eating sugar. His little brother felt terrible, because on numerous occasions, he had tattled on Tom for repeated offences. He even caused Tom to be in trouble for things that he did not do. Making his family believe that he was dead would have been the ultimate revenge.
...and bad, right and wrong, danger and friend. His moral growth is contrasted to the character of Tom Sawyer, who justifies his disgraceful and possible destructive concern on the prejudice of slavery or the brutality of separating that weaken the American dream.
As punishment for skipping school to go swimming, Aunt Polly assigns Tom the chore of whitewashing the fence surrounding the house. In a brilliant scheme, Tom is able to con the neighborhood boys into completing the chore for him, managing to convince them of the joys of whitewashing. At school, Tom is equally as flamboyant, and attracts attention by chasing other boys, yelling, and running around. With his usual antics, Tom attempts to catch the eye of one girl in particular: Becky Thatcher, the Judge's daughter. When he first sees her, Tom immediately falls in love with Becky. After winning her over, Tom suggests that they "get engaged." But when Tom accidentally blurts that he has been engaged before to Amy Lawrence, he ruins his relationship with Becky and becomes heartbroken.