Nathan Wu

Ms. Gibson

English 8

9 November 2020

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn’s relationship

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are close friends in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Even though Tom isn’t supposed to be with Huck, Tom and Huck are best friends. Huckleberry Finn is the son of the town drunk and every mother in the town fears that Huck will be a bad influence towards the other children. Huck is a free child and can do whatever he wants such as smoking, cussing, and just about anything. He inspires all the other boys including Tom who he thinks is super cool because he can do anything he wants to do. Tom on the other hand, is very controlled by Aunt Polly and especially Sid. Even though, Tom is a little bit of a troublemaker, Tom and Huck both have a good heart.

The two friends do many activities together, such as skipping school, swimming in the lake, and more. Tom can also use Huck as a beneficent way to him by telling Mr. Dobbins he hung out with Huck as a reason to sit with the girls and get next to Becky. On one night where the two boys tried to use a ritual with a dead cat to remove a wart, the two boys witnessed something that they would never forget. 

As they hid behind the tree, the two boys heard talking. “They’re humans! One of ‘em is, anyway. One of ‘em’s old Muff Potter’s voice” (Twain 91). The boys thought they were spirits coming to haunt them, but they came to the realization it was Muff Potter, Injun Joe, and Dr. Robinson. They two boys were hidden with the men not knowing they were there. Dr. Robinson was digging up a grave to study the body, while Injun Joe murdered Dr. Robinson with a knife and knocked out Muff. Tom and Huck fled right after they witnessed the murder. As Muff woke up with a knife in his hand, Injun Joe framed the murder on Muff, not knowing what he did. Tom and Huck swore, never to reveal what they saw and as an oath of their friendship. As keeping secrets and promises, showed how Tom and Huck’s has a strong friendship between the two knowing that this event was a serious matter of either life or death. Both knew that if they revealed this to the public, Injun Joe would come after them both and murder them and their families, with the exception of Huck.

The friendship between Tom and Huckleberry Finn led them both along with Joe Harper, a close friend, Tom to row out to Jackson’s island and “become” pirates. The three manage to survive for quite awhile. While on Jackson’s island, the boys wake up and find that their raft has disappeared. The problem doesn’t worry them, and they fish and have a great time on the island. It isn’t soon until Joe and Tom feel homesickness. Again, Huck has no immediate family who cares for him, Huck is in his natural habitat being free. In my opinion, I would think Tom would be like-minded to Huckleberry Finn, but without a guardian or siblings. This shows how Tom and Huck’s similarities and differences weave together their friendship.

After Muff Potter’s trial, where Tom reveals their secret to the whole public in order to save  Muff, an innocent man, from dying, Injun Joe escapes and is nowhere to be found. Tom and Huck find themselves looking for treasure together. Both knowing they could strike it rich and live easy lives, the two boys friendship is strong. At the end of the book, Tom and Becky get lost in a cave and discover that Injun Joe and the treasure are in the cave. Tom and Becky find their way out, and Injun Joe dies inside the cave while Huck saves Widow Douglas’s life, and he takes in Huck. “Huck Finn’s wealth and the fact that he is under the Widows Douglas’s protection, introduced him into society” (Twain 316). Huckleberry Finn will have proper guardian from now on. Both of they boys have good hearts and are good people. Meanwhile Tom and Huck go back into the cave and find the treasure, their fantasy ideas have led them too. 

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are good friends and both care a great deal about each other. The two boys also benefit from each other and can be useful to each other. Tom and Huck’s experience and face many challenges together and get through all of it. Without each other, neither of them could get through all the life and death trouble they had to face. This essential friendship between Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn is what ties the whole book together and without this, the book wouldn’t feel as it is complete.

Work Cited

Twain, Mark. The Adventure of Tom Sawyer. Puffin Classics: London, 2008.