The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom is a well-rounded character, a mix of strengths and flaws, based on trickster and hero archetypes that were adapted in American literature to a create a particular type of American male hero....

When you speak about where and when, you are speaking about the setting of a piece of literature. We can talk about this as the "Setting of Time" and the "Setting of Place." Let's explore both...

The main theme of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the joys of childhood when the world is full of wonders and children are free of the heavy responsibilities of adulthood. Mark Twain was writing...

In this part of the story Aunt Polly has attributed Tom the task of whitewashing her fence. Of course Tom would rather be out fishing, swimming or just hanging out with his pals, but he has been...

There are many words that describe Tom Sawyer. So, my list will have to be selective. Here are three words and quotes to back them up. First, Tom is crafty or mischievous. He can make others do...

The important events that happen in Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain are as follows: 1.Tom uses reverse psychology to trick the other boys into white washing the fence for him. 2.Tom receive his bible and...

The section of the book that you are talking about is a hilarious section. Huck and Tom sound like a couple of old men sitting on a porch having a ridiculously silly argument over nothing. The...

In the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the main antagonist, Injun Joe, who is half Native American and half white, seeks revenge on the Widow Douglas because he is physically punished and...

In Chapter Two of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom is forced to whitewash a fence. The fence is thirty yards long and made of boards nine feet high. Since it is a Saturday, all the other boys...

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, superstitions are important because people feel that with these beliefs they have control over certain situations. The children feel empowered by superstitions,...

At the end of chapter 1 in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom is caught by his Aunt Polly sneaking into the house through the window late at night. When she sees that his clothes are a mess, she...

Ah, Aunt Polly: tenderhearted, loving, but usually misguided Aunt Polly. She is the caretaker of Tom Sawyer (after Polly's sister, Tom's mother, died) and is always desperate to understand Tom....

Sid hears Tom saying, "It's blood, it's blood, that's what it is!" Sid says that Tom repeated these words over and over, and then he said, "Don't torment me so - "I'll tell!" Obviously,...

Setting refers to the time and place in which the events of a narrative occur. Mark Twain's classic novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, published in 1876, is set in the fictional small town of St....

Just before chapter 13 begins, Becky Thatcher finally returns to school. Tom is happy and begins showing off in front of her. Unfortunately, Becky isn't at all pleased with Tom's antics. She...

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom's energetic consciousness collides with adult civilization. Tom is presented against the backdrop of individuals and institutions that try to contain him,...

Aunt Polly finds out that Tom had been out swimming when Sid alerts her to the thread on Tom's collar. Instead of the original white thread she used to sew on Tom's collar, the thread is now black....

Tom wishes he were sick when he wakes up on a Monday morning and contemplates a whole five days of sitting still in school ahead of him: Monday morning found Tom Sawyer miserable. Monday morning...

At the beginning of the story, the author paints Tom as a cocky yet likable boy whom his aunt has to constantly discipline to keep in check. He steals jam, skips school, and gets into fights. Even...

This question is asking for a standard plot chart/diagram explanation. Doing that with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a bit awkward because the book is composed of a bunch of different...

Some of Tom Sawyer's negative traits are his mischievousness, ability to manipulate others, and his selfishness. For example, in the famous whitewashing scene, Tom manipulates the other boys into...

Tom and Huck overhear Injun Joe and his accomplice discussing the treasure. Tom is obsessed with pirates and treasure, as most boys are. However, one day he overhears two conmen, Injun Joe and his...

In chapter 2 of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Aunt Polly punishes Tom for his mischief by giving him the task of whitewashing whole of their fence. Of course, Tom wouldn’t want to do...

Sid is a great foil for Tom in the book. Unlike Tom, Sid is quiet and mindful of his manners. The text tells us that he has no "adventurous, trouble-some ways." In short, Sid is the total opposite...

Tom Sawyer considers school "captivity" and has an especially hard time facing it on Monday mornings, after a weekend of freedom from its "fetters." Tom does his best to get out of school on a...

There are quite a few questions being asked here, and all of the answers can be found in chapter three. I will answer the first two questions, since they are related to each other. About halfway...

Tom's main characteristic is undoubtedly his mischievousness. He's always getting into trouble of one kind or another, whether it's playing hooky or trying to help runaway slaves escape from...

In chapter 6, Huckleberry asserts that dead cats cure warts. However, Tom insists that spunk-water (the rain-water collected in an old rotten stump) is better at curing warts. He even proves it...

Tom and Huck have this bizarre notion that you can cure warts using a dead cat. Apparently, what you need to do is take a dead cat to a graveyard one night, say a few words of mumbo-jumbo over a...

Aunt Polly loves Tom and does her best to provide him love and support even though he is sometimes difficult. Tom is a very spirited boy. He does not fit well into the boundaries of society. He...

There are actually quite a few main events that can be picked from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Here are a few of them: Tom Sawyer and his friend Huck Finn visit a graveyard and witness the murder...

As far as the reason for writing the book is concerned, Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) makes it clear in the preface of the first edition where he says: "Although my book is intended mainly for...

The answer to this question can be found late in chapter 29. Huck is on lookout duty when he sees two men sneaking about, and Huck decides that it is a good idea to follow the two men. Huck...

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is in some ways a coming-of-age story about an intelligent boy who has always been able to manipulate others for his own purposes. He changes as a result...

Tom has been ordered to whitewash the garden fence by Aunt Polly as punishment for his bad behaviour, and finds this a very hard and boring task. However, he manages to coax first Ben Rogers and...

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is Mark Twain’s classic story of a young boy with a free spirit for adventure along the Mississippi River in the mid-nineteenth century. Although protagonist Tom is a...

Interesting question! In the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Huck aids Widow Douglas. However, despite his benevolence, he wants his actions to remain secret. In the book, Huck...

There are several instances throughout the novel where Aunt Polly punishes Tom for his behavior. Her most common form of punishment is beating Tom. In chapter 1, Aunt Polly attempts to beat him for...

Sometimes I think this is a book that people either love or hate. If you don't like it, it's not because it's not a good book. It's just that the episodic nature of the book, and the childish...

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is narrated in the third person. This means that the narrator is watching the story unfold, but is not participating in the action. As a result, we know that none of...

At one point in the novel, when rejected by Becky, Tom seriously considers running away and plans his future career, from running wild with Indians to the honoured life of a soldier. Finally, he...

The old lady was wearing her beautiful, fancy glasses that she wore just to look great. The problem was that she couldn't actually see anything through them (she might as well have been looking...

Aunt Polly is Tom Sawyer's kind-hearted guardian. She is the sister to the late mother of Tom and Sid. Aunt Polly wants to raise Tom right, but the high-energy boy is always into some sort of...

When Tom fakes his death, he tells his aunt that he dreamed that he saw her mourning his death. When Tom and the “pirates” do not return after the storm, the town assumes they are dead. Tom takes...

Tom Sawyer is often tempted to throw inanimate objects at his goody-two-shoes cousin. On this particular occasion, though, he throws some clods of earth at him. This is Tom's revenge on Sid for...

There is a proverb in Arabic which, roughly translated, means "I against my brother, My brother and I against my cousin, My cousin, my brother and I against the world." This is an apposite...

It's a beautiful hot, sunny day in St. Petersburg; certainly not the kind of day you'd want to spend in school. Mind you, Tom Sawyer never wants to spend any day in school, whatever the weather....

Tom lies about the teacher's book. Becky had accidentally torn it, but Tom takes the blame. Mr. Dobbins, the "master" at school, has a "mysterious book" which he keeps in his desk and takes out...

While Ben was whitewashing the fence, Tom was relaxing, eating, and planning how to fool more kids. In chapter 2, Tom is whitewashing the fence, and he is not enjoying it; however, Tom isn't about...

The start of Tom Sawyer opens with Aunt Polly looking all over the house and yard for Tom. The first word of the book is her shouting, "TOM!" (ch. 1). She looks around the room, checks under a bed...