book review of tom sawyer

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The adventures of tom sawyer, common sense media reviewers.

Twain's classic has humor, suspense, language issue.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Teaches readers what life was like for White young

Although this book is sometimes avoided -- even ba

Tom's guardian, Aunt Polly, loves Tom and treats h

Not terribly violent by teen standards, but parent

Young Tom Sawyer (probably 11 or 12, but Mark Twai

No curse words, but offensive racist language, inc

Injun Joe and Muff Potter drink whiskey to excess

Parents need to know that Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of this great American author's best-loved novels. First published in 1876, it portrays childhood during the pre-Civil War 1840s in an affectionate but realistic way; Twain's characters are full of wild ideas and antics that sometimes…

Educational Value

Teaches readers what life was like for White youngsters growing up in a small town on the Mississippi River during the mid-19th century, pre-Civil War era. Twain provides a vivid portrait of family life, school subjects, religious school, transportation, food, clothing, and attitudes that were prevalent at that time.

Positive Messages

Although this book is sometimes avoided -- even banned -- because of its racist language, it also offers life lessons. Tom is a rascal with a conscience and a loving heart. Twain teaches readers that many times children's careless antics are natural; a child can misbehave and still be "good" inside. The book also shows young readers that thoughtless actions have consequences, such as Aunt Polly's despair when Tom and his friends go "pirating."

Positive Role Models

Tom's guardian, Aunt Polly, loves Tom and treats him the same way she treats her own children, despite his antics. Much of Tom's behavior makes him more real than role model, but when his conscience overrules his fear of Injun Joe, he sets a very good and brave example.

Violence & Scariness

Not terribly violent by teen standards, but parents should be mindful of sensitivities of younger children. A knife murder takes place in view of two kids in the book, and a menacing villain talks graphically about cutting up face and ears of an older woman to exact revenge on her late husband.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Young Tom Sawyer (probably 11 or 12, but Mark Twain does not tell his age) flirts with girls and kisses the girl he likes best, Becky Thatcher.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

No curse words, but offensive racist language, including the "N" word, which is used 10 times. Native Americans are also portrayed in a derogatory way. Not only is the villain called "Injun Joe," the author attributes Joe's ruthlessness to his race. And Tom uses the word "injun" in other ways, such as "honest injun" and "injun-meal" (referring to corn).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Injun Joe and Muff Potter drink whiskey to excess -- enough to cause them to pass out. We don't see Huckleberry Finn's father, but readers are told that Huck is neglected and ill-behaved because he is "the son of the town drunkard." Huck smokes and teaches his friends Tom Sawyer and Joe Harper to smoke a pipe.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Mark Twain 's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of this great American author's best-loved novels. First published in 1876, it portrays childhood during the pre-Civil War 1840s in an affectionate but realistic way; Twain's characters are full of wild ideas and antics that sometimes get them into trouble. Tom Sawyer is often avoided, and has at times been banned from schools, because of the characters' use of the "N" word (which appears 10 times, often said by Tom and Huck) and the derogatory portrayal of Native Americans, especially in the form of the dangerous villain named Injun Joe. The novel is extremely enjoyable, full of humor and suspense, if readers can accept that its racist depiction of people of color is more a function of the characters' views than the author's.

Where to Read

Community reviews.

• Parents say (3)
• Kids say (18)

Based on 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Mark Twain's classic novel THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER takes place in fictional St. Petersburg (a town on the Mississippi that is patterned after Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri), where Tom lives with his Aunt Polly and cousins Sid and Mary. A mischievous, imaginative boy of about 11, Tom is often on the wrong side of the rules at school and at home. Late one night, Tom sneaks out with his friend Huckleberry Finn, and the two witness a violent crime. Afraid for their own safety, Tom and Huck promise each other to keep the night a secret, and Tom carries on his usual activities: playing pirates with his friends, flirting with the pretty Becky Thatcher, and worrying his Aunt Polly. But Tom and Huck soon find themselves in serious trouble, because they can't ignore their consciences, or the fact that the criminal has some treasure they can't resist.

Is It Any Good?

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has stood the test of time because Twain's perceptive and humorous portrayal of young boys is so perfect and so universal. Twain's sardonic wit keeps the proceedings from ever seeming precious or teachy; Tom is a realistic character who could exist in any time, and his story is full of engaging slapstick and suspense. Tom Sawyer may offend readers because of the author's use of bigoted language, including the "N" word. But as with Twain's masterpiece, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , readers should keep an open mind to understanding the difference between the worldview of the author and that of his characters.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the racist language in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . Do you think books with bigoted language should be read in schools? Why or why not?

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was written in the 1870s. What aspects of the book seem "historical" to you, and what seems like it could happen in any time?

To gain further insight into Mark Twain's views on race and slavery, read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .

Book Details

• Author : Mark Twain
• Genre : Literary Fiction
• Topics : Adventures , Book Characters , Friendship , History
• Book type : Fiction
• Publisher : Barnes & Noble
• Publication date : June 1, 1876
• Number of pages : 256
• Available on : Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle, App
• Last updated : June 8, 2015

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Book review: the adventures of tom sawyer.

Introduction

A quick synopsis.

I am proud to review Mark Twain’s Classic “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” today. If you haven’t read this book, please grab a copy right away and read it.

Book Title: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer By Mark Twain

First published in 1876, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is widely perceived as a children’s adventure story. The specialty of this book is that it revolves around the adventures of a young adolescent boy around the mid-nineteenth century, which is something that will appeal to everyone who reads the book, regardless of their age. For the adult reader, the story is reminiscent of his or her own childhood and for the child, a series of fun episodes he or she yearns to be a part of.

Tom Sawyer is young, imaginative and mischievous and lives with his Aunt Polly and half-brother Sid in a Mississippi town. The story opens with Tom’s Aunt Polly looking for Tom to question him about some missing jam. He gets in trouble at school and as punishment, has to spend his Saturday whitewashing her fence while his friends are enjoying themselves. But the clever Tom convinces his friends that it is a fun job – and they end up trading stuff with him to get a chance to whitewash the fence.

A young girl, Becky Thatcher moves into town and Tom falls in love with her. They have a tiff and Tom is off to the town graveyard with his best friend Huckleberry Finn, where they witness the wicked Injun Joe murder Doctor Robinson. When this comes to light, Injun Joe blames Muff Potter. Obviously this is too much for a young Tom to take, and he is afraid to tell what he knows.

He, Huck and their friend Joe Harper decide to become pirates and camp on an island in the river. When they come to know that Aunt Polly thinks they are all dead and a funeral is planned, they return home in a hurry. Once back, Tom feels braver and decides to testify against Injun Joe, who escapes from the law.

Without adding spoilers, I’d like to highlight the main scenes, which, besides the whitewashed fence, include the Sunday school episode, Tom and his friend Becky Thatcher getting lost in a cave, the graveyard scene with Tom and Huck Finn, Tom and Huck witnessing a murder, and their association with Injun Joe, followed by their hunt for his treasure. Each scene ties in with the overall story, building a vibrant picture of the lives of the various characters in the book.

Mark Twain (1835-1910) is a master at weaving words with wit and he tells the story of the young Tom Sawyer. Through the book, you will sense the moral, psychological and intellectual development of Tom, its central character. A beautifully written story, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer combines the past with the present in a way that the reader will personally identify with. The book speaks of life in the Mississippi River town where Twain himself spent his youth.

In this book you will experience a strong dose of humor, a lot of nostalgia, the innocence of childhood, superstitions, murder, revenge and slavery – all of which are ingredients for a classic story. Twain also wrote “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” a series of episodes related to the adventure to free the slave Jim.

If you are an adult reading the book, you will sense the typically Twain satire that runs through the story criticizing the eccentricities and hypocrisies of human nature.

The overall tone of the book is obviously humorous. For children reading the book, the adventures are quite exciting. Although this book is believed to be for young adults and adults, I remember reading the “whitewashing of the fence” in middle school in an English text book. The book is in narrative style, by an adult who sees the world cynically yet sentimentally when he dwells on his childhood with nostalgia.

Interesting: The Table of contents is followed by a timeline of Mark Twain’s life.

Suitable for age group: Recommended for everyone who is ten years and older.

Rating: Must-read. Five out of Five stars. Classics like these are hard to come by!

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31 comments.

I remember reading the white washing scene in school too! Never read the book after that – should pick it up some day :-). It’s nice to read about real boys and girls after all the fantasy and vampire stuff going around these days. Great review! Fab recently posted… Book Review – Eat That Frog!

One of the best books I have ever read. English classics made me fall in love with books. Kids today hardly know about them, it is a rather sad state of things 🙁 Seeta recently posted… Media (Un)Defined

I remember reading this book in school. After reading your review, feel like reading it again. Must get one and ask AG to read too! Shilpa Garg recently posted… Help! Help!!

I agree – these books started me on my journey decades ago Carol Graham recently posted… When Asked to Step Out of your Comfort Zone – Do It!

This is one of the many books that I read as a child, but really need to reread again as an adult!

I don’t know how many times I have read this book and every time I enjoyed it

To tell you the truth Vidya I was wondering what you’d do in a review of such a widely read widely heard of book but I so enjoyed your post. I love Mark Twain’s tongue in cheek humour and his quotes are to die for. Obsessivemom recently posted… Arranged Marriage

I can never forget the whitewashing scene. Thanks for the memories and ofcourse the review 🙂

Yes, the whitewashing scene was included in one of our English textbooks in Mumbai. That made me borrow the book from the school library and read it. Excellent book!

Your well-written review would make readers introduce the book to their kids. The story, which is appealing to kids, and Mark Twain’s lovely style would get kids hooked on to the reading habit. Proactive Indian recently posted… Punished for being poor?

This book and Huckleberry Finn were among the very first books that I have ever read and hold a special place in my heart. It was only years later that I learnt that these books were social commentaries of the days that Twain wrote these books. Have to re-read them sometime again just to re-analyse these books in that light. Jairam Mohan recently posted… The Confession – Chapter 3 – Books

I am yet to read that book. But will surely do after this review.

This truly is a “Must read” book for all ages, there is no doubt in my mind. Its an absolute classic. Of the classics, the one which always made me ponder as i grew up was ‘the Count of Monte Christo’. Roshan R recently posted… Things I Overhead While Talking To Myself – Book review

Roshan, the Count of Monte Christo is one of my all-time favorites. Each time I read it, I enjoy it in a different way. (Yes, I just got back :D). Also, The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emma Orczy. It is a amazing book. Thank you for sharing my happiness! Vidya Sury recently posted… Do You Have Type 2 Diabetes?

One of favorite books. Have lost count the times reading this one. Beautiful review 🙂 Sheethal recently posted… With Love.

A magnificent classic and a must read for everyone! ♥ Kathy recently posted… Books Haiku

Hi Vidya, Tom Sawyer is the quintessential creator of advantage from adversity.And in my estimate,he epitomises “making a lemonade when fate hands you a lemon”.That’s the spiritual lesson drawn from the beauty of assimilating Tom Sawyer character fully.The way he craetively inspires others to paint a fencing, and gets to bask in the glory of their adulation is magnificent really. Thanks Vidya ,for refreshing our memory. Mona richmiraclefiles recently posted… Create Balance For Peace

Tom Sawyers journey illustrates the challenges we all have to deal with in life, though these may seem trite. A wonderful review, Vidya! Michelle Liew recently posted… Addicted to you

I read the book in school and it forms part of ma childhood memories. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read and wow, you refreshed ma lovely memories:) vishalbheeroo recently posted… Write Tribe Festival of Words-2: Books

Oh! wonderfully reviewed. It took me back to school days. This was one of the books I enjoyed. Mysoul recently posted… Everyday Music

I remember reading about the fence white washing part of Tom Sawyer as an English Lesson in school. I was so intrigued that I made my grandpa buy me the book!! I had the abridged edition as a kid and then later on bought the unabridged version!! Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are brilliant books! 🙂 Pixie recently posted… Write Tribe Festival – Books

i’m pretty sure this book is required reading for all school kids in the U.S. Tom Sawyer was a legend but his buddy Huck was an even more interesting and criminally-minded character 🙂 Book particularly stands out for me cause I acted in a play in standard 6 featuring Tom Sawyer! Vishnu recently posted… A Simple but Powerful Practice to Change your Thoughts and Increase your Self-Worth.

Wow! that’s so sweet, Vishnu! And yes, I love Huckleberry Finn equally! What fun it must have been to act Tom Sawyer’s part!

This was required reading for us in school. A little lighter than Huck Finn. I just love everything that Mark Twain wrote. I hope to visit his hometown someday in Missouri! It was really fun to read your review! Betsy/Zen Mama recently posted… Want To Be Happy? Try Gratitude – 7 Ways to Practice Gratitude and Be Happier

I’m so glad we had Tom Sawyer and some other classics as compulsory reading in our school days. Amazing how much all these books gave us insights into the lives of children and adults in other countries. Sometimes, I think that it is the reading of these books that has helped us to bridge cultural gaps in blogging. What do you think? 🙂 Corinne Rodrigues recently posted… More Smart Eating, Less Guilt

Absolutely. Being well-read, that too with the right kind of reading broadens our outlook tremendously! Short of physically traveling everywhere, I think our reading habit is what makes us keenly appreciate everything we experience! It certainly helps us understand and bridge cultural gaps in blogging.

Great insight, Corinne! Thank you. And Thank you, again. Vidya Sury recently posted… Book Review: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

You took me back to my school days. This was my std 7 Literature book. They don’t write books like these anymore. In the age of Literature there were some real classics written. I need to read this book again. Thanks Vidya for bringing back those memories. Suzy recently posted… My Personal Journey with Dreams

Being published in 80s ,this book also rule till now……..a gud one.

Oh it’s been so long since I read this book. It brings back so many memories. I do remember Becky but don’t remember the murder part. Maybe I should try reading it again, once I am done with my TBR list. Rajlakshmi recently posted… The day my brain turned into a cabbage

Re-reading classics is so much more fun as adults. I recently re-read The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and loved it. Guess, we are able to find more meaning in these children’s stories when seen from an adult’s eye. I read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as a kid, but would love to pick it up again. Shilpa Garg recently posted… 5 Things About Life I Wish I Had Known 20 Years Ago #WordsMatter

This review brought me back to my school days when I read this book. I gotta read it again, you totally got me with this review ❤️ Karmen recently posted… 2 best hosting providers – from personal experience

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Twain’s Twang: Nick Offerman Reads ‘Tom Sawyer’

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By Christopher Buckley

• Nov. 14, 2016

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER By Mark Twain Read by Nick Offerman 7 hours, 52 minutes. Audible Studios.

“It was as though someone had switched off the wireless, and a voice that had been bawling in my ears, incessantly, fatuously, for days beyond number, had been suddenly cut short.”

Those lines are from Evelyn Waugh’s novel “Brideshead Revisited.” They came to me as I switched off the 2016 presidential campaign and listened to Nick Offerman’s audiobook narration of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” What a tonic those eight hours were! Offerman’s Illinois-raised voice and actor’s talent suit him ideally to channel Mark Twain and his archetypal American Puck (that “P” isn’t a typo), who played pirates with an archetypal American Huck, conned his pals into whitewashing the fence, fell in love with Becky Thatcher and showed up alive at his own funeral.

Was it as satisfying as it was because of all the political screeching in the background? No. Listening to Offerman’s “Tom Sawyer” would be ear balm anytime. Perhaps the reason is that this is a novel many of us first heard before we read it. “Tom Sawyer” and its sequel, “Huckleberry Finn,” are arguably America’s ur-bedtime stories. This may not be true for the millennial gen raised on apps and Twitter, but it was for mine and generations going back to Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency. Listening to Tom’s adventures over — gasp — a half-century after I last did sent me back to a time when early evenings found me sipping hot cocoa instead of vodka-and-tonics.

In the preface to the novel, Twain tells us, “Although my book is intended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not be shunned by men and women on that account.” Hmm. Actually, Mr. Clemens is being a tad cagey with us. (Surprise!)

On July 5, 1875, he wrote his friend William Dean Howells, the great editor and “Dean of American Letters” of the day: “I have finished the story & didn’t take the chap beyond boyhood. . . . If I went on, now, & took him into manhood, he would just be like all the one-horse men in literature & the reader would conceive a hearty contempt for him. It is not a boy’s book, at all. It will only be read by adults.”

On reading the manuscript, Howells wrote back: “It is altogether the best boy’s story I ever read. It will be an immense success. But I think you ought to treat it explicitly as a boy’s story. Grown-ups will enjoy it just as much if you do.”

In his afterword to the Oxford Mark Twain edition, the critic Albert Stone provides a tantalizing, and somewhat pause-giving, asterisk: Before Howells read the manuscript, Twain wrote and asked him to collaborate with him on a stage version: “I have my eye upon two young girls who can play ‘Tom’ and ‘Huck.’ ” As Aunt Polly might say, “Laws!”

Twain was conflicted about his novel in another way. In that July 5 letter to Howells, he says, “I perhaps made a mistake in not writing it in the first person.” Nine years later, Twain would publish a novel that begins, “You don’t know about me, without you have read a book by the name of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,’ but that ain’t no matter.”

If it was timely to have this audio version amid an especially choleric and noisy election cycle, writing “Tom Sawyer” must have been a tonic for its author as well. It’s the first novel Twain wrote entirely by himself. He probably began writing it in 1873, the year he and his co-author, Charles Dudley Warner, published “The Gilded Age,” their novel of Reconstruction-era corruption and greed. What could be more cleansing, after literary immersion in the seamy and squalid arena of robber-baron America, than an adventure story about an idyllic boyhood on the Mississippi River? This book, he said, was “simply a hymn, put into prose form to give it a worldly air.”

The operative word there is “worldly.” Tom’s idyllic boyhood witnessed grave robbing and murder. One of his pals was the homeless son of the town drunk; another character is a child slave named Jim. Nostalgia can be a mixed bag.

Shelley Fisher Fishkin, editor of the Oxford Mark Twain collection, points out that Twain “understood the nostalgia for a ‘simpler’ past that increased as that past receded — and he saw through the nostalgia to a past that was just as complex as the present. He recognized better than we did ourselves our potential for greatness and our potential for disaster.” Decades later, Twain would call President Teddy Roosevelt “the Tom Sawyer of the political world of the 20th century.” This was not intended as a compliment.

As the incessantly cited line by Hemingway goes, “All modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called ‘Huckleberry Finn.’ ” Does it? “Huckleberry Finn” sold more copies than “Tom Sawyer” during Twain’s lifetime. (Twain was overjoyed when it was banned by the Concord Library, estimating that censorship would sell an additional 25,000 copies.) But in the 20th century, “Tom Sawyer” reigned as the top best seller of all Twain’s novels. Twain scholars themselves cannot explain this, so I sure won’t try to, beyond recording my pleasure in listening to Nick Offerman read it to me anew over the course of eight happy hours.

He makes it sound easy. It can’t have been. This is one of the first novels to capture — indeed, define — the American vernacular. Try these lines on your tongue, see how they roll out:

“ ‘Oh, I dasn’t, Mars Tom. Ole missis she’d take an’ tar de head off’n me. ’Deed she would.’

“ ‘ She! She never licks anybody — whacks ’em over the head with her thimble — and who cares for that, I’d like to know. She talks awful, but talk don’t hurt — anyways it don’t if she don’t cry. Jim, I’ll give you a marvel. I’ll give you a white alley!’

“Jim began to waver.

“ ‘White alley, Jim! And it’s a bully taw.’ ”

How’s your tongue doing?

In Chapter 5, the minister of the village church gives out the hymn, which he does “with a relish”:

“At church ‘sociables’ he was always called upon to read poetry; and when he was through, the ladies would lift up their hands and let them fall helplessly in their laps, and ‘wall’ their eyes, and shake their heads, as much as to say, ‘Words cannot express it; it is too beautiful, too beautiful for this mortal earth.’ ”

The minister, Twain tells us, “was regarded as a wonderful reader.” So he was; so he is, 140 years later.

Christopher Buckley’s latest novel, “The Relic Master,” is now out in paperback.

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Book Review: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Good afternoon, Arrowheads! Recently, I finally got around to reading the Mark Twain classic, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . I haven’t reviewed a classic here on Authoring Arrowheads before, but a Goodreads friend had said they’d like to hear my thoughts on the novel. So, let’s get started!

Growing up, I had always heard that The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a classic children’s book. In fifth grade, I picked up the book during free reading time on the last day of school. I didn’t get very far into it that day, but the small portion I read had been luring me back to the novel ever since. At last, thirteen years later, I’ve finally joined Tom on his adventures, and I totally get the hype of one of Twain’s most beloved works.

The plot of the book is just as the title states, surrounding adventures our protagonist–a small-town southern boy named Tom–takes. The adventures are always whimsical and believable for the time period, as I’ve heard similar happenings from stories passed down in my own southern family. The plot also allotted a mystery element which held my interest from the moment it was incited.

Twain perfectly captures the essence of the south both through his choice of language and vivid descriptions. Twain also crafts characters we can root for in Tom and his partner in crime, Huckleberry Finn. Tom’s attempt at courting Becky is adorable beyond words, and it propelled nostalgia for that “first major crush” period of my life.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Twain’s style of writing and plan to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and explore the remainder of his works.

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What classic books do you recommend? Drop your favorites in the comments below!

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Book Review: "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain

Set along the banks of the Mississippi River, it is a timeless tale that has been beloved for more than a century and continues to captivate readers today.

It offers an escape from reality into an adventure full of humor and mischievousness; yet beneath its lighthearted surface lies profound insights about life.

This review seeks to explore these nuances as well as evaluate how effectively this classic novel can evoke feelings of freedom within its audience.

Plot Summary

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an iconic novel by Mark Twain. It follows the adventures of a young boy growing up in Missouri along the Mississippi River during the mid-1800s who, despite his mischievous behavior and occasional trouble-making, shows insightfulness beyond his years.

Throughout the story, readers get to witness character development as Tom navigates through moral lessons with the help of family and friends. Readers are enthralled by a journey that starts off with seemingly harmless pranks but ultimately leads to greater maturity while teaching valuable life lessons.

The story culminates in unexpected ways without providing easy answers, leaving readers wondering what will happen next and wanting more. With this ending transition into evaluation & reflection, it becomes clear why this book has been captivating audiences for generations.

Evaluation & Reflection

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, written by Mark Twain, is an iconic piece of literature that has stood the test of time.

The novel follows a young boy’s coming-of-age journey filled with adventure and mischievousness as he attempts to enjoy his newfound freedom.

While there are moments in which readers can laugh or sympathize with its characters, the book also serves as a social commentary on themes such as morality, courage and justice.

It is an interesting reflection on human nature as it questions how far people will go for their own personal interests or beliefs.

Despite being over 150 years old, this classic still resonates today and continues to offer lessons about life - from recognizing one’s strengths and weaknesses to understanding our responsibilities towards others.

A timeless work, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer should be appreciated not only for its entertaining storyline but also for its honest insights into society and humanity.

Frequently Asked Questions

What themes are explored in the adventures of tom sawyer.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an adventure-seeking novel that explores a variety of themes, ranging from the coming of age to social conformity.

The main character, Tom Sawyer, expresses his longing for freedom and excitement as he embarks on various adventures throughout the story.

As he matures into adulthood, Tom comes face to face with difficult choices between right and wrong and learns about loyalty, courage, and friendship.

Through these experiences, Tom ultimately discovers himself as well as the world around him in a way only possible through youthful curiosity and exploration.

Where Is The Story Set?

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is set in the small town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, a place that serves as an allegory for human society and its limitations on freedom.

Within the walls of this town, Tom makes friends with his peers while exploring caves together.

It is through these experiences that readers learn about friendship, loyalty and adventure – all themes explored throughout the novel by Mark Twain.

How Does The Author Build Suspense In The Novel?

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer includes a variety of narrative techniques that enable the author to build suspense, such as dramatic irony and foreshadowing clues. These tools create tension for readers by hinting at events before they occur.

For instance, early in the novel there are numerous references to Injun Joe, who eventually becomes an antagonist when he seeks revenge on Muff Potter for being taken away from his home. This type of suspenseful writing allows readers to become invested in the story and feel a strong sense of anticipation about how it will end.

What Are The Main Characters In The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer?

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain follows the story of its titular character, Tom Sawyer. He is accompanied on his adventures and moral choices by a cast of characters:

• His Aunt Polly, who acts as a guardian figure;
• Huckleberry Finn, an orphaned friend of Sawyer’s;
• Joe Harper and Sidney Harris, two other childhood friends;
• Becky Thatcher, his romantic interest;
• Injun Joe, a criminal antagonist;
• Muff Potter, another accused criminal;
• Widow Douglas and her sister Miss Watson, female figures that provide guidance for Tom.

Through this ensemble line-up of relationships with varying degrees of influence upon him, the reader is allowed to explore themes such as morality and freedom through the eyes of young protagonist Tom Sawyer.

How Does The Ending Of The Book Compare To The Beginning?

At the conclusion of ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, readers are left with a much different impression than what was present at the start.

Through his various experiences, Tom has grown and developed morally, which is evidenced by his newfound understanding of right and wrong.

His escapades have taught him to appreciate freedom more deeply - an engaging theme that resonates strongly with readers who share a similar underlying desire for independence.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a classic novel that explores multiple themes, including the importance of friendship and coming-of-age.

Set in St. Petersburg, Missouri, Mark Twain creates suspense through an intricate plot full of mystery and adventure.

The main characters are Tom Sawyer, his best friend Huckleberry Finn, and Becky Thatcher, with whom Tom develops a romantic interest.

Yet despite its fantastical elements, it is ultimately a story about growing up and learning to take responsibility for one’s actions.

Through irony, Twain emphasizes this point with a triumphant ending as Tom reconciles with all those he wronged on his adventures—including his own conscience.

He learns some valuable lessons along the way that will stay with him forever: life may be filled with ups and downs but what matters most is how you respond to them.

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Book Review: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain's beloved nineteenth-century novel is a thrill. Tom Sawyer is the story of a boy that everyone can relate to. From being bored in Sunday school to playing pranks on the teacher to running away and playing pirates, Tom Sawyer is full of boyhood adventures. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is filled with comedy, warmth, and youthful innocence. However, below the surface, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is about young boys facing the cruel adult world. This novel is truly a classic and can be enjoyed by all ages, especially upper elementary, middle schoolers, and high schoolers.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Introduction

The adventures of tom sawyer: plot summary, the adventures of tom sawyer: detailed summary & analysis, the adventures of tom sawyer: themes, the adventures of tom sawyer: quotes, the adventures of tom sawyer: characters, the adventures of tom sawyer: symbols, the adventures of tom sawyer: literary devices, the adventures of tom sawyer: quizzes, the adventures of tom sawyer: theme wheel, brief biography of mark twain.

Other Books Related to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

• Full Title: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• When Written: 1874-1875
• Where Written: Hartford, Connecticut
• When Published: 1876
• Literary Period: American Realism
• Genre: The novel is a hybrid of several genres, including satire, comedy, and folk narrative. It may be categorized as a picaresque novel because it's composed of a series of episodic adventures involving an impish child. As the story of Tom's moral development from boyhood into adulthood, it can also be described as a bildungsroman .
• Setting: The fictional village of St. Petersburg, which is based on Twain's boyhood home of Hannibal, Missouri
• Climax: Lost in MacDougal's Cave with Becky, Tom is searching the tunnels for a way out when he encounters Injun Joe, who runs away. (This is the major climax of the novel because Tom is its hero, but a secondary climax occurs at the same chronological time when Huck tells the Welshman that Injun Joe and the stranger are on their way to the widow Douglas's house to get violent revenge.)
• Antagonist: Injun Joe
• Point of View: The novel is narrated in the omniscient third person, though it is the voice of an adult with sympathetic insight into the struggles of boyhood.

Extra Credit for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Illustrated text: The original publication of Tom Sawyer by the American Publishing Company included 160 illustrations by True Williams. It is believed that the publisher might have intended that the pictures bulk up the rather short manuscript.

Hit rock song: The Canadian group Rush wrote "Tom Sawyer" to celebrate Twain's character for his individualism and spirited determination.

Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice

Teens tell you what's what.

Book Review: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

One of Tom’s crazy adventures is when he and his friend were in a graveyard trying to revive a dead person with a dead cat at midnight. Before they begin their process they see three men, Muff Potter, Dr. Robinson, and Injun Joe in the same graveyard. They quickly hide behind the bushes because they do not want to be seen by the three men. Instead, they witnessed Injun Joe murder Dr. Robinson for revenge, and then Injun Joe accuses Muff Potter for the crime. So scared, Tom and Huck run to a shed and complete a blood oath that they will never talk about the crime scene to anyone or they will die and rot.

Besides going on adventures, Tom also likes to tricks the children to do his white washing (putting new coat of paint on his aunt’s fence) and trade his trinkets for the tickets that can be used to trade in for the Bible to impress the new girl, Becky Thatcher– when a student receives a Bible, it shows others that they had been a good student.

I think teenagers today are going to like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . Even though this book is a classic, there are still some naughty teenagers and they might want to read about how kids were in the 1800s.

– Samantha S., 6th grade

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31 thoughts on “ book review: the adventures of tom sawyer, by mark twain ”.

That sounds great! Classic stories are always good for us to understand the history and society at the time.

Good review! I agree with Wenqing, reading definitely aids in our comprehension of the world! I’ve been meaning to read this for quite some time but I will see to it now!

i like the book review

Tom sawyer is a mischief young boy who is always looking for a new adventure, he plays tricks and always does risky things and tricks the children to do his chores for him. He goes on adventures with his best friend Huckberry finn. He has a young love Becky thatcher and does everything to try and get her attention. He lives in saint peters berg in missippi in america. tom and his friend huck go to the graveyard one day and see something that they were not suppose to what do you tink they will do. Gwyn-vonne smit 9th grader from hoerskool montana in south africa

Gwyn-vonne smit your review is also nice and intersting Well i am Chhavi 6th grader from St.Anthony’s Sr.Sec school in north India [Asia]

An intresting ,exiting,wonderfull review i liked it.

Intresting story . coolllllllllllllllllllllllll

nice book review and you have nice name samantha

oh cool nice

i liked this book and its review. Its cool story!!!!!!!!

Ya i loved this review……….

it is an amazing story about the adventure of tom sawyer

truely… 🙂

nice review and a cool story.☺☺☺☺

hi niharika

samantha your review is nice and intersting i loved it And i am aslo a 6th grader!!

It was an awesome review by Samantha and even the book was fantastic. The mischievious activities, tricks, and adventures by tom were fab. I didn’t read the book but after reading the review it seems that the book must be interesting and may be fun to read so I am definitely going to read it. Loved the review and review writer’s name too. ANINDITAA KAUSHAL 7th grader, DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL, YAMUNANAGAR.

its nice review

wonderful!!!!

I like the book rewiew..and its a nice story…

it is interesting

I have read this book..and i am very fond of it ……good and honest review

i realy like the book

It’s very good for me and children who are interested in reading classic novels

very good review. 🙂

It’s very nice story for children and very very very good

Nice story sounds like a blast!!!!

This book really took my attention I really l loved it💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is not merely a literary classic. It is part of the American imagination. More than any other work in our culture, it established America's vision of childhood. Mark Twain created two fictional boys, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, who still seem more real than most of the people we know. In a still puritanical nation, Twain reminded adults that children were not angels, but fellow human beings, and perhaps all the more lovable for their imperfections and bad grooming. Neither American literature nor America has ever been the same.

"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." —from an 1888 letter

More Details about the Book

Introduction to the book.

Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) is a book for readers of all ages. Most readers pick it up young and enjoy it, but too few come back to it later on, when its dark shadings and affectionate satire of small-town life might hit closer to home.

The book sold slowly at first but has since become the archetypal comic novel of American childhood. It begins with several chapters of scene-setting episodic skylarking by Tom and his gang. All the grown-ups in the book fret about Tom, fussing at him about his clothes and his manners, but also about his future, and whether this orphaned boy can ever grow up right.

Meanwhile, Tom just wants to cut school, flirt with the new girl, get rich, and read what he pleases. Only after he and his wayward friend Huckleberry Finn accidentally witness a murder will he at last get the chance to live out an adventure as heroic as any in his storybooks. When Tom and his beloved Becky Thatcher become trapped in a dark cave, he must call on all his imagination and ingenuity if he wants even a chance at growing up.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer has likely suffered over the years from unfair comparisons to its famous sequel. Huck gets fuller development in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), where he escapes down the river with the runaway slave Jim and, in spite of himself, begins to discover his conscience. But just because Huckleberry Finn is the deeper book doesn't make Tom Sawyer mere kids' stuff. Twain never could make up his mind whether Tom Sawyer was for kids or grown-ups, and his book is the better for it.

If Tom stepped out of his 19th-century Missouri small town and into a contemporary American classroom, a guidance counselor would probably tag him as an at-risk latchkey kid. Reading Tom Sawyer today is an invitation to talk about how American childhood has and hasn't changed—and also to laugh at Twain's enduring invention of a great American comic voice.

"Now the raft was passing before the distant town. Two or three glimmering lights showed where it lay, peacefully sleeping, beyond the vague vast sweep of star-gemmed water." —from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Major Characters in the Book

Tom Sawyer is a smart, imaginative, conniving, bossy boy growing up in fictional St. Petersburg, Missouri. He's usually in trouble by the time he gets out of bed, but he's too well-meaning and funny for anybody to stay mad at him for long.

Huckleberry Finn is the son of the local drunk. Huck does most everything that Tom puts him up to, while Tom covets Huck's freedom and independence.

Becky Thatcher is the new girl in town, and Tom falls hard for her. She's flirty and headstrong, sometimes manipulative, but brave enough with Tom by her side.

Sid Sawyer , Tom's half-brother, is the most disgusting goody two-shoes on two legs. Aunt Polly is always measuring Tom against him even though he's a shameless tattletale, a worrywart, and a crybaby.

Aunt Polly has taken care of Tom since his mother died. She truly loves him, but he's a handful, and she wishes he could be more like that nice Sid.

The Widow Douglas takes Huck into her home and tries to reform him. Her rigidly scheduled life rubs him the wrong way, and only Tom has any luck talking him into staying.

Muff Potter is a drunkard. He's not an evil man exactly but weak, cowardly, and ripe for anyone to come along and take advantage of him.

Injun Joe embodies all the fear of the unknown that a small town might feel on the edge of a great unsettled wilderness. Violent and cruel, he earns a little of the reader's sympathy only at the very end.

"He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain." —Mark Twain, from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain's two most enduring books, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and its often underrated junior partner The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , represent two sides of the same raft. Tom Sawyer is sunny and upright, skirting whirlpools but ultimately hugging the shore of convention. Huck Finn is its deep, dark, wet, rushing underside. Nowhere do these flipsides of Twain's productively riven personality bob up more conspicuously than at two moments common to each novel: when both title characters attend their own funerals, and when each novel ends with a shaky vow of reform.

In both books the hero gets to live out perhaps every morbid, underappreciated kid's greatest fantasy: to spy on his own mourners and hear how sorry everybody is, and then to come back from the dead to a hero's welcome. "She would be sorry some day," Tom says of Becky, "maybe when it was too late. Ah, if he could only die temporarily!" Typically, Tom lucks into his version of this fantasy. Huck, on the other hand, deliberately fakes his own death to escape his father.

The books' endings, too, are strikingly similar. In Tom Sawyer , Huck reluctantly allows the Widow Douglas to take him in, but on the last page he doesn't sound terribly optimistic about sticking it out with her. Meanwhile, in the famous ending to Huck Finn , the title character vows to "light out for the territory" if the widow tries too zealously to "sivilize" him, because he's "been there before." Huck has indeed been there before, because Tom Sawyer ended on this same skeptical note.

In fact, Tom and Huck fit their namesake books perfectly. Like Tom, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is outrageous, but also smooth, artful, and anxious to please. A model of literary construction, it stands up straight. Like Huck, on the other hand, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn slouches. It's ungainly, in need of finishing, and its language often lands it in trouble. It's also touched by genius. There's no denying that something's fundamentally haywire with the end of Huck Finn —yet look closer and see if it isn't a flaw common to every imperfect life. Huck and Jim have gone wrong after the fork, they've overshot something crucial, they've lost their way and don't know how to get back. Who among us hasn't felt the same? Twain certainly should have. He published his best book at 50 but lived to nearly 75.

Seen this way, Tom and Huck's Mississippi River becomes an endlessly renewable metaphor. Twain saw as clearly as anybody that as Americans we're all on this raft together, afloat between oceans, crewed by oarsmen of more than one color, tippy but not aground, not yet.

About Mark Twain

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Mark Twain was a man ahead of his time from the day he was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, fully two months early, in tiny Florida, Missouri. Not surprising for a preemie, a profound sense of mortality shadowed him all his life. In addition, Twain survived a youth marked by deaths both sudden and grisly.

Not only did his forbidding father, Judge John Marshall Clemens, die of pneumonia when Twain was 11, but Twain is said to have witnessed the autopsy through a keyhole. He also sat at his beloved brother Henry's bedside as he lay dying after a steamboat explosion, and Twain forever blamed himself for getting Henry his fateful job on board.

Three other formative experiences made Twain the writer he became. First were the gifted storytellers he grew up listening to, many of them slaves. Next came his early job as a printer's apprentice. There he literally put words together, by handsetting type, and observed up close what made sentences sing or clang. Finally came Twain's years in California and Nevada, where he became a newspaperman and found his voice as a writer. There he chose the pen name "Mark Twain," a riverboat expression meaning two fathoms deep, the divider between safe and dangerously shallow water. A tall tale called "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" (1865), widely reprinted almost immediately, cemented his national reputation.

Twain returned from the West and set out for the East—specifically the Middle East, where he traveled on the first-ever luxury cruise and filed dispatches back to stateside newspapers. The eventual result was a national bestseller, The Innocents Abroad (1869), and highbrow acceptance from the tastemakers at the Atlantic Monthly magazine.

Meanwhile, Twain's personal life settled down. After years of bachelorhood he married Olivia "Livy" Langdon, whom he had first glimpsed in a cameo carried by her brother, Charley, on shipboard. Charley introduced the couple on their return, and after two years Twain overcame the Langdons' misgivings and they married. She was demure and he was outrageous, but somehow it worked. After the death of their firstborn son, they raised three daughters and lived as happily as Twain's dark moods permitted.

Twain's imperishable memories of his boyhood led to the writing of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and, eventually, its more challenging sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). Twain wrote well and prolifically almost all his long life, but these two companion pieces stand apart as his masterpieces of childhood and childhood's end.

Financial uncertainty and death haunted Twain's last years even more than they had his first. He went broke keeping up the beautiful house he had built in Connecticut and investing in a series of harebrained schemes. A daughter died, then his adored but frail Livy, and then yet another daughter. Through it all he kept writing—fiction when he could, essays when he couldn't, plus magnificent letters and journals by the trunkful. Revered across America and around the world, Twain died on April 21, 1910.

Twain on Writing

"God only exhibits his thunder and lightning at intervals, and so they always command attention. These are God's adjectives. You thunder and lightning too much; the reader ceases to get under the bed, by and by." —from an 1878 letter to his brother Orion

"There is no such thing as ‘the Queen's English.' The property has gone into the hands of a joint stock company and we own the bulk of the shares!" —from Following the Equator , 1897

"No sir, not a day's work in all my life. What I have done I have done because it has been play. If it had been work I shouldn't have done it." —from a 1905 interview

"I never write ‘metropolis' for seven cents, because I can get the same money for ‘city.' I never write ‘policeman,' because I can get the same price for ‘cop.'" —from a 1906 speech, "Spelling and Pictures"

Discussion Questions

• How do you think American childhood has and hasn't changed since the 1840s?
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was already a historical novel when it was written, fully 30 years after it is set. Does it feel realistic or nostalgic?
• Between Tom and Huck, who's more of an outlaw and who's a conformist?
• Who emerges with more dimension in the book, African Americans or Native Americans? Can you detect any hints of Twain's late-career humanism?
• How might the fence in Aunt Polly's yard serve as a symbol? What might be implied by Tom getting others to "whitewash" the fence for him?
• How old are Tom and his classmates? Do they behave convincingly for their age?
• Why do you think Twain made Tom an orphan?
• Which do you enjoy more, Twain's dialogue or his descriptions? How does one complement the other?
• If you could eavesdrop on your own funeral, what do you think you would hear?
• Find a sentence that makes you laugh out loud. Change one word. Is it as funny? If not, why not? If so, change one word at a time until the joke weakens or dies. What made it work before?
• What important roles did Huck and Becky play in Tom's success, even though Tom is celebrated as the town's hero?
• Tom makes a difficult decision when he tells the truth about the murder. Compare the way he comes to his decision with Huck's choice to help Jim in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. How does Tom's motivation differ from Huck's?
• Some readers believe that Tom develops a conscience by the end of the novel. Do you agree? Is there evidence to suggest that Tom has changed?

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Center for Mark Twain Studies

Honoring Mark Twain

MARK TWAIN FORUM BOOK REVIEWS: “CRITICAL INSIGHTS: THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER”

Editor’s Note: CMTS is proud to partner with the  Mark Twain Forum , which has long been a leading venue for reviews of new publications in Mark Twain Studies. Visit their  extensive archive . Follow the link at the bottom of the page to read the complete review. A portion of Amazon purchases made via links from Mark Twain Forum Book Reviews is donated to the Mark Twain Project.

Critical Insights: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . R. Kent Rasmussen, ed. Salem Press/Grey House Publishing, 2022. Pp. xl + 348. $105. Hardcover. ISBN 978-1-63700-343-5.

Available from salem press at < https//salempress.com/ci_adventures_of_tom_sawyer >.

The first of Kent Rasmussen’s two forewords to  Critical Insights: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer  suggests that the reputation of the novel as “a literary work worthy of serious study has always been shaky” (vii). Since his idea is based on the huge scholarship accorded  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  in comparison to scholarly attention to  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , it is hard to refute, but I am reminded of a statement on  Moby Dick  that scholarship on it had replaced whaling as the greatest industry of Massachusetts, or words to that effect. Yes, the study of  Tom Sawyer  has been eclipsed by the massive  Huck Finn  juggernaut, but it is also true that  Huck Finn  takes on, face front, America’s gravest and most disastrous social calamity, racism. Still, as Rasmussen points out,  Tom Sawyer ‘s publication history is also massive and world-wide. Good reasons exist to think it is more widely read throughout the world than  Huck Finn . Huck’s first-person speech is tough on translators. The third-person omniscient voice which narrates  Tom Sawyer  is a lot less of a problem, but there are other features of the first book which have appealed to vast numbers of readers, such as the fence white-washing episode which provides Tom’s story its own icons and themes. When I asked two Korean English teachers if they knew  Huck Finn , some years ago, both smiled and said, “Oh, Yes! I loved the chapter where he whitewashed the fence!” Either way you read this anecdote, it emphasizes that  Tom Sawyer  is worthy of our attention and that white-washed fence as a major icon is tied centrally into American culture as international readers perceive us. Incidentally, like all of Twain’s major works, it contains comments and moments touching on racism in America.

Readers of this collection of original new essays would expect to come out of the experience with a heightened perception of  Tom Sawyer  well worth discussing. They will be satisfied not only with important points established but also with some of the more nuanced observations. Also the broad spectrum of essays, and their placing the novel in relation to popular media up to the present time is a dimension that might appeal to teachers and to media-oriented analysts. The topics of the essays place the novel not only in different critical perspectives, but also put the book in cultural contexts coming forward to the present. I found a number of points in essays that caused me to reflect on the novel somewhat differently than I had before. I think my appreciation of the novel’s achievement was expanded in relation to Twain’s nature writing, in the detailing its purposefully nostalgic statement, and in the positioning of Injun’ Joe.

Kent Rasmussen’s introductory essay on Twain in relation to Tom Sawyer, as persona and as a set of adventures is, like most of the essays offered, unpretentiously engaging. Rasmussen highlights Twain’s 1907 letter which offers the flat-out confession that he is himself Tom Sawyer. As students of Twain as humorist and realist all know, of course, anything he says is part truth and part fiction: nothing can be taken for granted. Every critic of his time who had an insufficiently well-developed sense of humor choked on the ambiguity involved in other works like  The Innocents Abroad , which crippled their ability to get the joke. Almost every critic agreed in  Tom Sawyer  reviews, however, that the portraits of nature, of a boy’s mind, and of a culture were very special and the melodramatic plot was engaging, although awfully grim for a children’s book. One of my problems as a reviewer of this collection is that the introductory survey by Rasmussen is so clear and compact that summarizing it without simply replicating it is not really possible–so I won’t try. However, hoping that Artificial Intelligence ChatGPT would write the review for me (this is a joke, in case you take everything I wrote as serious), I did resort to the internet with the question “Why is Adventures of Tom Sawyer still popular?” The digital response was amazingly close to this introduction. Wondering at this miracle, I put the question in again–I’m not sure if I changed a word–and got the same answer only with some of the points shuffled around in a way that made for disorganized reading. On the third try, it flopped a little more. In other words, I suspect that the several points made in the essays offered in this volume establish the lasting key points for our generation, as well as Artificial Intelligence, and the fact that the essays here are well-detailed and nuanced–as we would expect from the respected scholars who wrote them–is comforting in reassuring us as readers that the skeleton is very strong, and the details raise these particular essays well above the common.

The first three essays by Peter Messent, Alan Gribben, and Joe B. Fulton build on Rasmussen’s framing and provide meticulous detailing. Messent proposes that while  Tom Sawyer  is entangled with the reality of the period, it is anti-historical in its elevation as fiction above its immediate period, climaxing in the melodramatic ending. Particularly substantive was the interpretation in terms of “profound dislocation” occurring in the 1870s. I was impressed because I had just read a superb set of essays on the novels and life of Albion W. Tourgee  (Reimaging the Republic ; Fordham UP, 2023) and his efforts to arouse the nation through  A Fool’s Errand  and  Bricks Without Straw , of the same period. Messent pinpoints the same idea, but in a novel that, unlike Tourgee’s, has escaped the milieu of the 1870s to be readable in a later time. Messent demonstrates the curve of Twain’s novel through history–antebellum and post-bellum–into the symbols and archetypes of the Gothic and the interplay of Messent’s observations with the plot of the novel was noteworthy. Alan Gribben immerses us in alternate sources while musing that many critics seem to forget that  Tom Sawyer  is a comic novel, one point that really needs to be continually reemphasized about Mark Twain’s canon generally. His list of issues in  Tom Sawyer  also sets the novel in a valuable perspective when he notes that no other specimen of the boy book genre is remembered at all–and yet here Tom remains, an icon of youth and a progenitor of scenic moments that find places in advertisements, revisions of popular plays, and elsewhere. Taken together those two essays pretty much carry the argument for taking the book seriously. Gribben’s perceptions on Jackson’s Island and Twain’s observation of nature, by themselves, changed my own somewhat ambivalent feelings about  Tom Sawyer . Joe B. Fulton’s essay on Jackson’s Island and the “environment” goes more deeply into the matter of the perception and use of nature, minute nature, in a way that finished my conversion to an admirer of what Twain had achieved as a minute “Realist” writer, not of city ways like Howells, so much as in the personal observations of Tom, as in the case of the inchworm. Jackson’s Island is a sort of poetic rendering of the ecological environment which reflects more deeply on Twain’s nostalgia about an era of simplicity that was fast vanishing in the 1870s–and even more so in our era of climate catastrophe.

I note the fourth essay in this first grouping of essays, by Philip Bader, takes on the task of showing parallels between Twain’s novel and J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Given my druthers, I wished I had first read John Bird’s following essay on the Tom Sawyer “franchise”–after all, as Bird points out, there are four finished novels/novellas and a couple of unfinished manuscripts featuring Tom–all of them showing a devolution which makes Tom less and less appealing. Bird argues that we miss something in the earliest book when our reading is colored more darkly by the later Tom of Huck’s adventures, an interesting point for thoughtful consideration. Then Bader’s presentation of the Potter books could have brought me up to speed on current literature. Having listened on occasion to grandfathers chatting with their grandchildren about Harry Potter–Oh, yes, I have–I recognize an inter-generational appeal of substance. Since I do not have even a “passing” knowledge of the Potter books, though, I will back away from trying to be smart in comments about something I am ignorant about. The parallels noted are worth considering for those who might want to bring the comparison into the classroom. Rasmussen’s later essay on Hollywood’s take on  Tom Sawyer , also can be grouped with these preceding essays. The subtitle of Rasmussen’s essay that Hollywood “almost” got the book right is quite appropriate to his documentation. Note: Hollywood got “A Connecticut Yankee”  all  wrong, and I will quibble with the description of Bing Crosby’s antics and the misuse of Rhonda Fleming as entertaining in the one paragraph which treats it as a side-comment, although that might describe some responses in 1949-1950–I was glad that in the same paragraph Rasmussen stated how viciously unethical the perpetrators of this particular artifact really were, subverting everything substantial in Hank Morgan’s experience.

. ….Finish reading David E.E. Sloane’s review at the Mark Twain Forum

Copyright © 2023  Mark Twain Forum This review may not be published or redistributed in any medium without permission. The Mark Twain Forum Review Editor is  Barbara Schmidt .

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Book Review

I have recently read the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (formerly known as Samuel Clemens). I read it because I heard it was a good book, and partially because I also read another Mark Twain book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and it was a good book, too The book is about a young boy named Tom Sawyer, who is a troublemaker and is very smart in that aspect. The book is set in the mid-to-late 1800s Mississippi. Tom lives with his aunt Polly, and half-brother, Sid. The targeted audience is teens to adults, but the vocabulary used is geared toward adults because there are a number of longer, more obscure words. The story is told by Tom and it has a lot of voice and really proves his personality. The plot is surrounded around Tom and as the plot gets deeper, Tom’s personality gets deeper and the reader learns more about Tom. I think that is a really cool aspect of this book, and a really good writing technique. Even in the beginning of the story, you could describe Tom’s personality. Just by the way he does things, and the things he says, you can tell what kind of person he is. The antagonist, is a man named Injun Joe, who is half-caucasian and half-native american. He is a very bad person, who does bad things. Injun Joe and Tom and Tom’s friends have the deepest conflict with Injun Joe than anyone else in the story. Several themes are revealed throughout the book, and these include: Friendship, bravery, courage, loyalty, etc. Tom is my favorite character, but he is also the main character. I think he is the most mature of everybody despite some of his actions. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend because it’s really well-written and it has a deep plot. In conclusion, this is one of the best books I have ever read.

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Book Review : The Adventures of Tom Sawyer : By Mark Twain

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Originally by Mark Twain, Illustrated: Thoughtfully Crafted and Revised for the Twenty-First Century Reader Paperback – May 29, 2024

Purchase options and add-ons.

• Reading age 9 - 18 years
• Print length 228 pages
• Language English
• Dimensions 6 x 0.52 x 9 inches
• Publication date May 29, 2024
• ISBN-13 979-8860191624
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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D5HP2VSQ
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (May 29, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 228 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8860191624
• Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9 - 18 years
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.52 x 9 inches

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