Mark Twain Quote
Tom Sawyer's adventures It is a recognized work of the American Mark Twain. It was published between 1876 and 1878 by the American Publishing Company. This literary piece covers the genres of adventure, comedy, tragedy and biography, and takes place in the period preceding the Civil War in St. Petersburg (1860).
In this novel, the author describes the life of a rebellious and witty boy, but enormously kind. The work is set in a small fictional town whose characteristics are reminiscent of the coast of the Mississippi River —place where the writer spent his childhood—. Such has been the impact of the narrative, which has been translated into dozens of languages, used as a reference in hundreds of theses, reviewed in critical articles, suitable for cinema, theater and television.
Summary by Tom Saywer
Tom, naughty and in love
Tom's days passed between mischief, exhausting the patience of his aunt Polly. She demanded her help with the housework, but the young man always managed to avoid her commitments.
One morning as punishment for skipping class Polly ordered him to paint the fence. The clever boy, without any desire to do his duty, pretended to the other children that doing such an activity was fun, and He gave so much that he got them to do the job for him. After getting away with persuading others to finish their job, Tom he received permission from his aunt and was able to go out and play.
Then, back home after enjoying his wanderings, the boy saw a beautiful girl with whom he immediately fell in love, and, as if by magic, he forgot his last love conquest: Amy Lawrence. Desperate for the young woman's attention, he began to do dozens of risky somersaults, however, that did not help him and he left sad for not getting a look.
Days after, and as was customary on Sundays, the family attended mass. There, the intrepid Tom managed to exchange several vouchers with other young people and raised the amount necessary to win a Bible. In the midst of excitement the boy was pleasantly surprised to see his new love: Becky. She was the daughter of Judge Thatcher, who was the special guest that day at the church.
While the mass was going on, Tom was totally bored and that's why he started playing with a beetle on the floor. Suddenly, the insect pinched a dog's nose and the dog howled in pain. All the hubbub caused a stir in the parishioners, causing the speech to be interrupted and ultimately marring the Sunday service.
The next day, on the way to class, Tom ran into his friend Huckleberry Finn and arrived late to the room. Aware that the punishment was to sit with the girls, she accepted with pleasure, since she was able to sit next to Becky Thatcher. In this way she took the opportunity to declare her love for him and thus they agreed to the union with a kiss.
He proposed to get engaged forever, but he confessed that he was previously infatuated with Amy Lawrence. the newly bride She got angry and, full of jealousy, she refused to eternalize her love with him. Tom, sad and upset by the rejection of his girlfriend, decided to go the rest of the day to his usual refuge located in the woods behind the Widow Douglas's house.
Robbery, corpses and graveyard
As night fell, Huck looked for Tom and they went to the graveyard.They expected to see demons and do some rituals with dead cats. They hid near the grave of the recently deceased Hoss Williams, y, suddenly, they saw arrive Tree men: Dr. Robinson, Muff Potter and Injun Joe.
Potter and Joe stole some corpses, while the third intruder watched them. Unexpectedly, the men began to argue and demand more money from Robinson, and the latter defended himself by hitting Potter on the head. The Indian took advantage and ended Robinson's life with a knife, then manipulated the scene blaming muff, who was still stunned.
The young people silently witnessed the crime andTerrified, they quickly fled for their lives. After the fateful incident decided to make an indestructible oath: not to tell anyone what they had just witnessed. They validated the commitment on a wooden board, pricked their fingers and signed in blood.
Elopement to Jackson Island and Funeral
Dr. Robinson's body was discovered and news of the murder shook the entire town.. And, as expected, muff potter was arrested. As a result, Tom began to have nightmares, and, coupled with Becky's lack of interest, his sadness deepened.
Art from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer animated series
The situation made Tom think about many things, one of them was the suffering he gave Polly due to his irreverent way of acting. So, he made the decision to run away from home. That was how he left at midnight with his friends Huck and Joe Harper, heading for Jackson Island on a raft. Unfortunately, that led to walking full of misdeeds.
In the town, after noticing the absence of the young people, they began to look for them everywhere. Realizing the ruckus they generated, a feeling of satisfaction was born in them and they believed themselves to be false heroes. One night, Tom sneaked back into the house, feeling remorseful at the uneasiness of his family.
Ya Without hope, the relatives and other inhabitants of the town gathered in the church to offer them a funeral. On that very day, Joe, Huck, and Tom returned to town and hid in the temple passageway to watch their own wake. In the middle of the honors, they left their hiding place, and all the assistants, seeing them alive, they rejoiced.
heroes and justice
Back to school, Tom became the novelty of the moment. Full of glory, he told everyone about his great adventure – giving it, of course, a high level of exaggeration. Also decided to ignore Becky and not beg her for her love anymore, although the young lady soon managed to get his attention.
The girl Thatcher was carried away by curiosity and rebellion, rummaging through the teacher's things and tore one of the pages of a very valuable book. When the teacher complained to the class about what had happened, Tom took responsibility and took the punishment for it. Thanks to this sacrifice, Becky was moved and ended all her disputes.
Holidays and reflection
Summer came and Becky left town. For her part, Tom , sad for the absence of his beloved, he had to take two weeks of rest because he contracted measles. After that period, when the young man came back out he noticed that everyone in the town had become more religious. The situation moved him and, after reflecting, he decided to leave behind his vices and bad habits.
On the other hand, Potter's trial was about to begin, which caused Tom's conscience to grow heavier by the day.: an innocent was to be accused. That was why the boy decided to break the oath and confessed everything he knew to the defense attorney. Sawyer testified in courtWhich it was enough for them to free muff, but it did not prevent Injun Joe from escaping.
The lost treasure
Back to normal, Tom and Huck They continued to search for buried treasure. One day they ran into Indian Joe and decided to follow him, and that's how they discovered that he had a loot saved. The following days both dreamed of obtaining that treasure, because they had never seen so much money.
Suddenly, it took a back seat to Tom, because Becky was back in town. The boy's joy was overflowing. That weekend—at the girl's insistence—the family organized a small picnic for the children at McDougal's Cave. After sharing for a while, the boys decided to explore the surroundings, for which they formed groups.
As they explored, Tom and Becky got lost and got trapped in the cave. That same night, Huck chased Injun Joe and foiled the criminal's plan: he wanted to harm the Widow Douglas. The brave boy came with help and saved the life of the helpless woman. After that, Huck fell ill, and the widow thanked him by taking care of him.
After days locked up, Tom and Becker tried to find a way out, y being at it they discovered that Indian Joe was also inside the cave. They immediately moved away and hid from him, and were soon rescued by the authorities, who sealed the door of the place. However, by the time Tom was able to explain that the Indian was inside, it was too late, as the Indian had starved to death.
After the funeral of the outlaw, the boys began the rescue of the hidden treasure and they were successful: now they were rich. Tom received recognition from the Thatcher family, who proposed to help him enter the Military Academy. On the other hand, the widow Douglas adopted Huck, however, he didn't fit to the changes and rules of society, and decided to escape.
Tom , worried about his adventurous friend, convinced him to come back promising him that, even if they are rich, they would form a successful gang of thieves.
About the Author
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemenspseudonym Mark Twain— was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri. In his youth, after abandoning his studies due to the death of his father, he worked as a typographer's apprentice in a publishing house. He became involved with writing and was soon doing journalistic writing.
In 1907 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford (United Kingdom). His literary career consists of: 12 novels, 6 stories, 5 travel texts, 4 essays and 1 children's book. In his native country, his legacy has transcended time, his contributions have been recognized and various schools and high schools are named after him.
Twain died on April 21, 1910, at the age of 74, in Redding. (Connecticut, United States).