Nate Hunter

Ms. Gibson

English 8

11/11/20

 

Tom Sawyer Essay

 

At its core, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is a story about a young boy who, over the course of the book, becomes more mature and grows as a person. Tom Sawyer, at the beginning, is immature, irresponsible, and lazy. This is clear as soon as the second chapter, where we see the famous white-washing scene. In this scene, Tom is being forced by his Aunt Polly to white-wash the fence, and it is likely he would rather die before actually completing this task. When another boy, named Ben, walks down the sidewalk and Tom sees him, he comes up with an idea to get him to do his work for him. Tom says, “Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to white-wash a fence every day?” (Twain 17). This causes to Ben to drop what he’s doing and beg Tom to let him white-wash the fence. Tom uses this trick on many other boys in town, allowing him to almost completely skip his work. This shows us that while Tom is smart and knows how to get inside people’s heads, he uses this as a way to get out of any responsibilities he may have. However, Tom’s knowledge of human nature is an incredibly adult thing, so this also tells us that Tom does have the capacity to be more mature. This scene is very early in the book, and it immediately shows us what type of person Tom is. Other things we learn about Tom reinforce this scene well. We learn that he has a very immature understanding of love, which is seen in how he treats Becky, and how his aunt is constantly frustrated with him.

This makes it even more surprising when we see Tom grow and change as a person as the result of his experiences. Tom goes through a lot on his adventures, and it truly does have an effect on him and it helps mold him into a better, more mature person. When Tom and Huck witness the murder of Dr. Robinson, they swear to each other to not tell anybody. This pact will lead to Tom’s biggest moment of growth and maturity in the whole story. There are other signs of Tom growing up, however. When Tom runs away from home, he becomes very guilty and decides that he has to go back and let his aunt know he is alive and well, in order to ease her fears. When Tom lies about what happened, and Aunt Polly learns of his lie, he is genuinely sorry and the guilt he felt while on the island returns to him. When Becky accidentally rips the principal’s book, Tom takes the blame for her mistake, and takes a whipping because of it. If Tom Sawyer was still an immature child at these points of the story, surely things would have gone differently, but Tom because learned to be more responsible, we were shown moments of maturity and growth. None of these moments, however, show Tom’s growth more than the trial scene. At Muff Potter’s trial, Tom is called up to the stand as a witness. He is horrified of what might happen if he says the truth, as Injun Joe, the man who actually killed Dr. Robinson, is in the room with him and could kill him if he opens his mouth. Twain wrote, “Tom glanced at Injun Joe’s face, and his tongue failed him” (Twain 214). Despite his dread and fear of Injun Joe, Tom mustered up all the courage he had and told the truth: that Injun Joe was the real killer. Being able to overcome great fear is something that not even some adults can do, but Tom Sawyer, after everything he has been through, has grown to the point where he can do the right thing, no matter how afraid he is. Mark Twain constructed a tale about a boy who starts out half his age, and ends as an adult in a child’s body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . American Publishing Company, 1876.