The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is Mark Twain’s most popular novel. The mischievous young protagonist is based on Twain, himself, and the town of St. Petersburg, in which it is set, is inspired by Hannibal, Mississippi where Twain grew up.

The tale begins when Tom, who, lived with his Aunt Polly, and his half-brother, Sid, on the banks of the Mississippi, played hooky from school and got into a fight. After he is forced to whitewash a fence as punishment, he quickly devises ways to grant his friends the privilege of doing the work for him.

One primary theme of the story is Tom’s love for the bewitching Becky Thatcher, the new judge’s daughter, whom he also attempts to con; something which backfires on him almost immediately. But this doesn’t stop the feelings which develop between them as the plot thickens. Then there is the son of the town drunk, Huckleberry Finn, whom Tom lures to the graveyard at night to try a cure for warts using a dead cat. It is here that they witness the murder of a young doctor by ‘half-breed’ ‘Injun, Joe’. Tom and Huck flee the scene, swearing a blood oath not to tell what they have seen. Injun Joe frames his supposed friend, Muff Potter, a drunk with little credibility. After Potter is arrested, Tom develops great guilt. There would be a trial…what would he do?

Meanwhile, Tom and another friend, Joe Harper, run away to an island to become pirates. His family thinking Tom dead, the river is dragged for his body and a funeral is held for him, which he sneaks into, joined by Joe and Huck.

The remainder of the story is also filled with quirks and turns to keep the reader turning the pages. Though a product of the late nineteenth century, the story, which spawned numerous films, plays and television productions, is just as worthy of reading today as when it was new.