Study notes: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer would rather be a pirate than paint a fence, so he talks other boys into paying him for the chore. He and Huck Finn witness something dangerous, get lost in a cave, and turn a summer into a legend. Twain is mocking Sunday-school manners and also writing a real mystery. The Mississippi town is specific: school, church, and the river. Tom is charming and selfish. The book lets you enjoy him and still see the trouble he causes.
Themes
Performance versus honesty. Friendship outside the respectable house. Adventure that stops being a game.
People to follow
Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, Becky Thatcher, Aunt Polly, and Injun Joe as the book names him.
Talk about
- When is Tom’s cleverness actually kindness?
- What does Huck want that Tom treats as a game?
- Which scare in the book is no longer funny?
Public-domain text.