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Social Commentary In Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

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The world has changed much in one hundred years: women are standing up for themselves, children are changing the world, but still the works of three authors stand strong as the writers of some of the most well-known books in history. Mark Twain's style is very distinct because of the stylistic elements he uses. One of the main elements he utilizes is Social Commentary. Social Commentary is when the author gives his or her own insights into the workings of society or the human mind. In Chapter 2 of 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,' Tom is forced to work on painting his aunt's fence while his friends play, but Tom finds a way to swindle them into paying him to do the work for him. On page 15, Tom tricks his friend Ben by saying, "Like it? Well, I don't see why I oughtn't to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence …show more content…

This quote shows what Twain later describes as a 'great law of human action.' This is Twain commenting on the fact that in order to make a man want something, you must simply make it difficult to obtain. Altogether, this evidence shows how social commentary is a large part of Twain's unique writing style. It is, in fact, one of the main reasons he started writing: to instill lessons of morality and astuteness into his readers. O. Henry has a very unique writing style. In his short stories, O. Henry shows many examples of irony/plot twists. Ransom of the Red Chief is a story about two men who decide to kidnap a boy. However, he treats the men as if they were toys, and drives the men crazy causing them to give the boy back. "I found Bill backed up against the side of it, breathing hard, and the boy threatening to smash him with a rock

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