THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER
Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer tells the story of Tom, an imaginative and mischievous young boy who never passes up a chance for an adventure in mid-nineteenth century St. Petersburg, Missouri. The novel has several themes, among which are love, imagination, rebellion and superstition.
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One of the major themes that the author portrays in the book is childhood love. We can clearly see the associated emotions overcoming the boy when he first notices Becky Thatcher, as stated: “He worshiped this new angel with furtive eye, till he saw that she had discovered him; then he pretended he did not know she was present, and began to “show-off” in all sorts of absurd boyish ways, in order to win her admiration.” (p.17) Soon after, he proposes to Becky with a doorknob and out of excitement, accidentally mentions his former love, Amy Lawrence, causing the engagement to fall apart. To illustrate the pain of a broken heart, the author chooses carefully his words in order to show us the power of love. The statement: “So she (Becky) sat down to cry again and upbraid herself; and by this time the scholars began to gather again, and she had to hide her grief and still her broken heart and take up the cross of a long, dreary, aching afternoon, with none among the strangers about her to exchange sorrows with.” (p.52) explains the previous fact. As an end of the year celebration, Tom’s whole class goes on a cave exploration outside of town. When Tom and Becky realize that they are lost in the caves, he constantly tires to comfort her and ignite some hope for their escape. The passage on page 187, “He sat down by her and put his arms around her; she buried her face in his bosom, she clung to him, she poure…
…cines and all new fangled methods of producing health and mending it.” (p. 76) After Tom kept to himself Muff Potter’s innocence and became indifferent to persecution, his aunt heard of “painkillers” and decides to try it. As mentioned on page 77, “She ordered a lot at once.” we can clearly observe the presence of superstition.
To conclude, after closer analysis of the themes, I learned to appreciate the novel. When first reading the book, I viewed the plot as a story where young boys and girls engaged in adventure. However, during my second reading, I got reminded of my childhood undertakings and came to reveal early memories. The way the novel is written, mainly through the eyes of a child, makes it easier to get lost in the vivid imagination of the characters. Twain sets up a rewarding novel that makes us rethink the advantages of both freedom and civilization.
