‘”Tom!”
No answer.’

Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens, is known for his piercing wit, but here in his first novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, he recounts the adventures of a boy in St. Petersburg, a fictional town along the Mississippi River which is based on his own hometown of Hannibal, Missouri.

Tom Sawyer, who is around 12 to 13 years old, lives with his Aunt Polly, whose sense of responsibility towards him often feels smothering to Tom.  With a keen sense of adventure and a character full of independence and assertiveness, Tom’s head is replete with a myriad of plans and ideas which often get him into countless scapes.

First, we see Tom being punished for getting into a fight, and Aunt Polly requires him to whitewash their long wooden fence.  Certain that will keep him busy and out of trouble for many days, Aunt Polly does not account for Tom’s unusual ingenuity and resourcefulness.  While he is white washing, children pass by and ask him what he’s doing.  Using quite resourceful logic and persuasion, Tom convinces them that it is the best job in the world, and soon he has a line-up of children who want to take over the task.

Tom Sawyer (Whitewashing the Fence) by Norman Rockwell (1936)
source Wikiart

But Tom doesn’t just have a mischievous streak ….. he also easily falls in love, first with Amy Lawrence and then with Becky Thatcher, a new girl who is the daughter of a judge and who has just moved to St. Petersburg.  But when Becky learns about Amy Lawrence, her feelings and pride are hurt, and Tom is in danger of losing her love.

Tom Sawyer played by Jeff East – 1972
~ source Wikimedia Commons

With his friend, Huckleberry Finn, they witness a murder in a graveyard at night by Injun Joe and pledge, by a blood oath, undying silence as to what they saw.  They then run away to Jackson Island to play pirates for days and when they see the town dragging the river for their bodies on the assumption they’ve died, they decide not to reveal themselves until the dramatic day of their funerals.

More adventures and slim escapes follow Tom, as he faces a lost treasure, certain death and a happy ending.

Mississippi River
~ source Wikimedia Commons

Twain had written two very short sketches of boyhood before he wrote Tom Sawyer, one called The Story of the Good Boy and the other, The Story of the Wicked Little Boy, and it is supposed that Tom Sawyer is an amalgamation of the two.  Twain also drew from his own experiences of boyhood and corresponded with his friend, Will Bowen, for memories.  In fact, Tom Sawyer is the name of a real San Francisco fireman who was famous for rescuing 90 passengers of a shipwreck and was friends with Twain during his time in the city.

The novel evokes memories of a time long ago.  Tom has freedom and is given responsibility.  While he often fails to live up to what is expected of him, there is a underlying conviction within him that struggles with his free spirits.  He loves his Aunt, yet he yearns to be his own person.  His determination often gets him into trouble, but one feels that through his misadventures, he will eventually learn to employ more self-control.  He has morals and convictions that are anchored in goodness and that goodness will eventually win out.