Discussion Topic
Tom Sawyer's depression
Summary:
Tom Sawyer's depression stems from his conscience nagging him to confess the truth about Dr. Robinson's murder and his unrequited love for Becky Thatcher, who stops attending school due to illness. Additionally, he feels down because he has to spend a beautiful Saturday painting a fence as punishment for his previous night's mischief. However, his spirits lift somewhat when he cleverly manipulates others into doing the work for him.
Why was Tom sad in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"?
In the book, at the beginning of chapter two page ten, it states that Tom "surveyed the fence and all gladness left him." It is a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is shining and "there is a song in every heart," but Tom Sawyer has to spend the day painting a thirty-yard nine-foot fence. Worse, he knows it's his fault. The previous night, he had come back late to find his aunt waiting for him in his room. Any excuses he may have had became invalid as soon as his aunt saw the poor state of his clothes.
Tom Sawyer, however, is nothing if not ingenuous. When Ben Johnson arrives to ridicule him, Tom makes him believe he enjoys the work and would prefer to whitewash the fence than go swimming.
That put the thing in a new light... Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more...
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and more absorbed. Presently he said:
"Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little."
After Ben tires out, Tom gives Billy Fisher the "chance" in exchange for a kite. After Billy Fisher, Tom gives Johnny Miller his opportunity in exchange for a dead rat. All the time Tom is sitting on barrel in the shade, idly playing with his new toys.
It's a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all the trees and flowers look so fresh and lovely. It sure is a morning to gladden the hearts of everyone in St. Petersburg. But not Tom Sawyer; he's feeling incredibly sad. Because while all the other boys are out having fun swimming, Tom's going to be spending his Saturday whitewashing the fence. This is his punishment from Aunt Polly for getting into a fight with a boy and coming home with his clothes all dirty and torn.
But Tom's not miserable for very long. He figures out a way to turn lemons into lemonade, so to speak, making his punishment an unusually enjoyable experience as he tricks a number of children into whitewashing the fence on his behalf.
Why is Tom Sawyer depressed?
There are two main reasons for Tom's depression. First of all, his conscience is still nagging him to tell the truth about what happened to Dr. Robinson that terrible night in the graveyard. Tom knows he must do the right thing and confess to what he saw, but he's too scared of what Injun Joe might do to him.
Secondly, Tom's hopelessly lovesick. He's developed a massive crush on Becky Thatcher, but she's got sick and has stopped attending school. Tom fears for the worst, and his depression gets so bad that Aunt Polly cooks up some unusual home remedies to try and snap him out of it. Surprisingly, they work, but not in the way intended. Tom gives one of Aunt Polly's medicines to the cat. The poor animal starts running around like crazy and creates a huge mess everywhere. Tom's spirits are duly raised.
But he only really starts to feel better when Becky Thatcher recovers from her illness and returns to school. Unfortunately for Tom, she's not feeling particularly friendly towards him, and she gives him a good talking to before she storms off, leaving poor Tom feeling utterly dejected.