The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

By: Mark Twain

Great Quote:

“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.”

Analysis: 

            Mark Twain begins Tom Sawyer with a brief introduction.  “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, for part of my plan has been to try to pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how they felt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engaged in.”  This quotation begs the question, “Why would Mark Twain want adults to remember their childhood?”  Tom Sawyer has several qualities that adults should attempt to maintain or recapture.  I will discuss only three of the many that stood out to me.

            First, Tom Sawyer is creative.  Remember how vivid your imagination was as a child?  A vivid imagination would help most adults as they tackle the daily tasks they are confronted with.  Imagine if you thought as creatively as Tom does when you were assigned tasks.  Think of how Tom reacted when he is forced to whitewash the fence.  Not only is the work done, Tom comes out ahead.  Tom Sawyer’s solves almost all of his problems with his unquenchable creativity.

            Next, Tom is resourceful.  When he is lost in the cave, he blows out a candle to give himself more time.  He rations his food and finds a spring.  And when the candles burn out he takes a piece of kite string and continues to search for a way out.  This quality of tenacious resourcefulness is something that we often lose as adults.  But children have it.  Watch a preschool age child that wants a treat that is out of reach.  Stay hidden while they make their attempts.  The child will build ingenious towers and try to scale cabinets.  Now this is not always great behavior, but it is resourceful. 

            Finally, Tom is admirable for his courage.  Think about how he treated Muff Potter.  Consider the courage it would take to speak the truth in front of the Injun Joe in your life.  Imagine how much better a world we would live in if we all had Tom’s courage to speak out against injustice.

            The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a great book.  Mark Twain is one of the greatest authors of all time and this story is well deserving of the praise it receives.  It is timeless.

Something to take note of:

1.      Mark Twain is a master of humorous writing, which is a very difficult task.