Summary: The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

Maria Ritchie

Mr. David R. Lopez

Honors English 9

6 December 2017

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a classic tale about a boy in the mid-19th century. Tom is greatly admired by all his friends because of his blatant disregard for the rules and his keen sense of adventure. Throughout the novel, Tom manipulates people’s feelings, probably without even realizing it himself. He manages to make everyone feel lost without him when he runs away, only to return and have everyone rejoice in his presence. One must notice, however, that Tom always partakes on his adventures with a companion; he never fails to persuade someone to come along with him and join in his mischief, no matter the possible consequences.

One of the most suspenseful points in the book was when Tom got lost in the caves with Becky Thatcher, who he hoped to be his girlfriend. After a few long days, the two emerged, which was unexpected, because the caves had not been fully explored and mapped out yet. When Tom returned to their hometown, everyone rejoiced in his presence. This was not the first, but the second time that Tom was notably missing for an extended amount of time. The first time that Tom disappeared was when he went pirating with Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. The whole town thought they were drowned and dead in the river, but in reality, they were just feeding their imaginations in the wilderness. When they returned, “Tom was a glittering hero once more--the pet of the old, the envy of the young” (124). Once again, Tom escaped punishment and managed to make everyone forget that he did anything

Most boys Tom’s age were not able to go exploring as much as he did. Acting like a pirate and hunting for treasure were some of Tom’s favorite things to do, as those are the kinds of things that the characters did in his favorite stories. When Tom went on adventures, he always brought someone with him, like the time he took Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn to an uninhabited island to act like pirates; “Who were to be the subjects of their piracies was a matter that did not occur to them” (71). During their time on the island, the boys got to spend their days relaxing and doing things like fishing and hunting. When they returned, they got to tell of their amazing journey and how they even endured a huge storm that would’ve killed anyone else, making all the boys that missed out jealous. Tom also went treasure hunting with Huck and they made a name for themselves by doing something no one actually expected them to do-actually finding treasure. Not only did they gather a huge sum of money for themselves, but while they were at it, they also saved a woman from murder and caught a criminal. As one could imagine, accomplishing such a victory as this made all the other children want to be friends with