Greed In Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Response to Literature

“The point is that you can’t be too greedy,” says Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States. Many people look up to him as he is apparently now president. The definition of greed is an intense and selfish desire for something especially wealth or power. Greed is a part of human nature. The main character, Tom Sawyer experiences it quite often in the book. Thomas Sawyer is an eleven-year-old boy who lives with his aunt in a small religious town. One of the themes that Mark Twain explores in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is that everyone has some amount of greed in them. Three examples that support this theme are when Tom risked his life in the search for gold, Tom tried to get Becky by making her jealous, and when Tom and his friends ran away because they didn’t feel appreciated.

Tom new if he had enough money it will make him happy. “He has never seen such as much as fifty dollars in one mass before” (Twain 157). This is when Tom had found the gold and was excited yet shocked. Mark Twain is saying that many people think it is overwhelming to look at such large amounts of money in one place. He is stating that it is part of human nature to want to get rich. Society gives out the feeling of the need to have money which makes humans somewhat greedy.

During the book, Tom attempts to get Becky jealous by using Amy Lawrence. “The little girls showed off in various ways and the little boys showed off with such diligence” (Twain 34) Showing off is a way to attract attention. Tom thought making his opponent jealous would be the way to impress someone. In the novel, Twain reveals that humans should not use other people to make an impression on someone. Mark Twain tells that in this world, perfection is craved but is not