Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. New York, New York. Penguin Groups: 1986.
The last time I read this book was in elementary school and it was the one for children. I chose to read this novel because it's a classic and I haven't really read it yet. I wasn't sure what type of genre this novel fell into but I think it's a classic with satire, folk narrative and comedy. This novel took place around 1845.
Plot: Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid. After playing hooky from school on Friday and getting into a fight, Aunt Polly punishes Tom by making his whitewash the fence the nest day. Tom was very disappointed at having to waste his free day off and decides to persuade his friends in doing his job. Tom also falls in love with the new girl in town, Becky Thatcher, and persuades her to get engaged to him. It wasn't long till Becky finds out that Tom has been engaged before with Amy Lawrence. After Tom got dumped by Becky, he accompanies Huckleberry to the graveyard at night to try and find a cure for warts. Little did they know, they witness the murder of Dr. Robinson by Injun Joe. The two runs away and swears a blood oath that they will not tell anyone what they saw. Injun Joe then blames Muff Potter for the murder and was arrested. Tom's guilt started to get to him. Tom, Huck and Joe Harper runs away to an island to become pirates. As they enjoy fooling around and having their freedom, they are aware that the whole community is looking for their bodies. Tom sneaks back home and came up with an idea to have all three of them to surprise everyone at their funerals. Everyone rejoiced for their return. When summer arrived, Tom and Huck go hunting for buried treasure in a hunted house. Little did they know, Injun Joe and his companion arrive there and sees their tools and walks off with the treasure. Huck begins to spy on Injun Joe and finds out that they have something planned to the Widow Douglass. Huck runs for help and becomes an anonymous hero of the community. Meanwhile, Tom and Becky gets loss in a cave and begins to weaken from starvation. Tom sees Injun Joe in the cave because Injun Joe using the cave as a hideout. When Becky and Tom were found, Judge Thatcher locks up the cave and leaves Injun Joe to starve to death. A week later after everything happened, Tom takes Huck to the cave and they find the box of gold which was given to them. The Widow Douglass adopts Huck, although Huck decides to escape civilized life. Tom promises Huck that if he returns, he can join Tom's robber band and Huck agrees.
Character: Tom Sawyer is a mischievous child who envies Huck's lazy lifestyle and freedom. In the story, Tom begins to show him mature and make responsible decisions from the critical moments that he had to face. In the beginning of the book, Tom's misbehavior tends him to get into trouble. However by the end of the book. he was no longer disobedient. His growth in throughout the book means that he is beginning to embrace social customs of sacrificing his childhood. I chose him because his energy and thirst for adventure moves the story. The novel really shows how he has grown up bit by bit.
Evaluation: Like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I enjoyed this book. However I should have read this before reading Huckleberry Finn because it makes more sense to. Anyways, I would recommend this book to people who have nothing to do and just wants to read. But I think for children, I would recommend the book that I read in elementary school because they could understand it better. I don't think that there is anything the I would change in the book because it was well written and I enjoyed all the adventures that were showcased in this book.
Mark Twain was born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri in 1835. He grew up near a small Mississippi River town. His two novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, were the set in the fictional St. Petersburg which is really the place where Mark Twain grew up. He grew up in a prosperous family and as a young man, he travelled frequently. He worked as a printer's typesetter and as a steamboat pilot.
Labels: Book Report