Tom Sawyer Growth

In the novel Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer (the title character) is the protagonist. He has great character growth throughout the novel, he drastically changes throughout the course of his adventures. By the end, Tom had become a responsible, thoughtful, and considerate young man. This essay will serve to document this evolution, from a careless child, to a more developed young adult. Although the book has many topics and themes, Tom’s character growth clearly focuses on his murky navigation of the transition from child, to young adult.

At the beginning of the novel, Tom is full of childlike irresponsibility and freedom. He is jealous of his friend Huckleberry Finn’s lazy, care-free lifestyle. Yet, as the novel progresses, he starts showing signs of maturity, when he realizes there is more to life than that frivolity, “‘The eats by a bell, she goes to bed by a bell; she gits up by a bell—everything's so awful reglar a body can't stand it.’ ‘Well, everybody does it that way, Huck.’” This quote shows Tom starting to understand the adult way of life, and it’s importance, while Huck is stuck in his childlike ways. His attempt to communicate this to Finn shows how he is starting to mature, despite the outside influence of his friends.

He starts with thinking of few people but himself. When he faked his death, he not only showed his childlike nature, but also expressed his lack of respect for other people and their feelings. He started the novel with no care for the consequences of his actions, doing what he wanted to satisfy his childlike urges. However, he does start to understand, and respect the feelings of those around him, "'Auntie, I wish I hadn't done it--but I didn't think.'" This quote gives a great example of this evolution. Although he still didn’t think in the moment, Tom started to realize that his actions had consequences and effects to