How Old?
Although most readers suggest Tom Sawyer is a pre-teen because of a few of his personalities, the truth is he is ageless because he acts a different age throughout each predicament he encounters. Throughout the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom, the ageless boy, acts a different age for each personality. E.L. Doctorow states:
“Tom Sawyer is ageless. I don't mean that he is a boy for the ages, although he may be—I mean that he is a boy of no determinable age. When he falls in love he exhibits the behavior of a six-year-old. When he is cunning or manipulative he might be nine or ten. His athleticism places him nearer the age of twelve. And in self-dramatization and insensitivity to all feelings but his own he is unquestionably a teenager. The variety of his moods, including his deep funks when he feels unloved, his manic exhibitionism, his retributive fantasies, sweeps him up and down the scale of juvenile thought.” Many
…show more content…
When he manipulates his Aunt Polly he knows what thoughts she’s thinking which makes her an easy victim. In the first chapter of the book, Aunt Polly assumes Tom has been swimming instead of going to school. She asks Tom, “Didn’t you want to go in a-swimming, Tom?” (Twain 5). Tom knows she suspects something and tells her “Some of us pumped on our heads-mine’s a damp yet. See?” (Twain 5). He knew Aunt Polly’s moves, so he planned ahead to make sure he would get away with the crime he committed. Many nine or ten-year-olds can lie their way through any situation as long as they stay calm like Tom.
Tom, the ageless boy, has many personality traits and these are some of his main traits. Throughout the book Twain does not state Toms age so he can show his variety of personalities. This leaves the readers with their own assumption of Tom Sawyer's age. In conclusion to this my overall prediction of Tom’s age is a eleven-year-old boy who wants an adventurous
In the stories of Tom Sawyer and “Born Worker”, Jose’s and Tom’s actions and personalities set two very unique images in the reader’s mind. However, comparing Jose and Tom is not just black and white; they are both similar and different in special ways. Tom, a deceiving youngster, spends his time “rolling in the wealth”, whereas Jose is working hard “pumping his arms.” Jose is diligent and works hard. On the other hand, Tom spends his time playing on human nature to make other people do the work for him. Another difference is that Tom is mischievous, “bankrupting every boy in the village” while Jose is full of integrity, inspiring people to do something “bright at a difficult time.” Tom steals from the other boys, scamming them without a second
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.
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.
Tom Sawyer serves as a foil, or a contrast character, to Huckleberry. His ideas for adventures usually come from books he reads and is rebellious to authority. Even with this, his novel showed that he st...
In the beginning of the book, Tom gets punished by stealing jam and sneaking out at night. Aunt Polly makes him spend his Saturday whitewashing their fence. We see this when Mark Twain
While Tom was able to grow in maturity over the course of one year, I and many others today grow in many other ways as well. We are able to learn, grow and repeat in order to become better people in our society. Tom Sawyer was written a long time ago, but we are still able to use messages written in this book today, even if the scenarios aren't
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.
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain a young boy by the name of Huckleberry Finn learns what life is like growing up in Missouri. The story follows young Huckleberry as he floats down the Mississippi River on his raft. On his journey he is accompanied by his friend Jim, a runaway slave. Throughout this novel Huckleberry Finn is influenced by a number of people he meets along the way. Huckleberry Finn was brought up in an interesting household. His father was rarely ever home and if he was, he was drunk, his mother had passed away so Huck had no one to really look out for him or take care of him. Huckleberry had the life that many teenagers dream of, no parents to watch you or tell you what to do, but when Huckleberry finds himself in the care of Widow Douglas and Miss Watson things start to drastically change. Widow Douglas and Miss Watson are two relatively old women and think that raising a child means turning him into an adult. In order for Huckleberry to become a young man, he was required to attend school, religion was forced upon him, and a behavior that was highly unlike Huck became what was expected of him by the older ladies. Not to long after moving in, Huckleberry ran away. When he finally came home he respected the ladies wishes and did what they wanted, but was never happy with it. When Tom Sawyer enters the picture, he is the immediate apple of Huckleberry's eye. Huckleberry sees Tom as the person that he used to be and was envious of Tom's life. Huckleberry saw freedom and adventure in this young man and soon became very close friends with him. Huck then joins Tom's little "group" to feel that sense of belonging and adventure that he misses out on due to living with the two older ladies. Soon enough Huck realizes that all of Tom's stories are a little exagerated and that his promises of adventure really are not that adventurous. Tom gives Huckleberry a false sense of excitement and eventually Huck leaves Tom's gang. Later on Huckleberry 's father, Pap, enters the story and tries to change everything about Huckleberry that the two women have taught him.
Tom is a young man bearing the responsibility of his handicapped sister, Laura, and his suffocating mother, Amanda. He works in a factory, and uses his paycheck to provide for the family. Jim, a fellow factory worker and former high school friend, knows Tom as Shakespeare, in that Tom writes poetry, sometimes to alleviate his suppressed feelings of frustration. Poetry is one of Tom’s methods of escape from the lunacy in his home. Adventure is something Tom does not experience much of, and is angst toward his less than mediocre life is expressed in many of his arguments with Amanda.
Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are two close friends, but are also very different from each other. While one lives in a well-respected family, the other is abandoned out onto the streets. While one boy is liked by almost everyone in the community, the other is looked down on by society. The only similarities the two companions have together are their bravery and courageousness, their strong belief in superstition, and their love of adventure. Despite their many differences, both boys know when to make the right decision, and both value friendship above all.
While Tom’s role in the plot of the novel is small, his contribution to the overall message is integral. His nonsensical antics and wild imagination provide for amusing scenes and moments, however they share a deeper meaning that Twain means to convey to his audience. Representing the juxtaposition of a privileged man in Southern Antebellum society in the character of a young boy contributes to the satiric nature of the novel by providing a certain hilarity to the seriousness of Tom’s cruel
Tom Sawyer, the main character of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, written by Mark Twain, is an average boy who is bored with his civilized life and escapes these constraints by pulling pranks. The character, Tom is presented as a realistic and convincing boy. He is kind and loving, but also cruel, stupid, and hypocritical. As the story progresses, Tom shows signs of maturity. The story of Tom Sawyer, as well as TOM being about a realistic character, is a story that is instructive to adults and children.
Tom Sawyer, a mischievous, brave, and daring boy that goes through adventures in love, murder, and treasure. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is about a boy maturing from a whimsical troublemaker into a caring young man. In the "conclusion" Mark Twain writes, "It being strictly a history of a boy, it must stop here; the story could not go much farther without becoming a history of a man" Tom is now maturing throughout a span of adventures in love, treasure, and everyday life that make him more of an adult, then a boy.
Have you ever liked a movie more than the book it was based on? A book being made into a movie is sometimes stressful when it could be a total hit or a total flop. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer book by Mark Twain was a captivating book with details that molded well together. A movie was made in 1938 off of the book and I favored it over the book. The movie did leave me unsatisfied with its loss of an important scene that can cause confusion. Yet, the fast paced action scenes left me feeling enthralled and hooked. Adding on to that, the main character’s personality stayed true to the book without a feeling that something is missing. The movie, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is far more exciting and appealing because of its heart racing action and true characters that keep the audience glued to the screen.
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.