FREE ESSAY ON ADVENTURES OF TOM SAYER

ADVENTURES OF TOM SAYER

ebruary 17, 1992
English: Book Report 7-K
I. Introduction
A. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
B. This type of book is realistic fiction.
C. The main character is Thomas Sawyer, a twelve year old 
boy, whose parents are dead. Tom lives with his aunt, Polly. Tom 
is busy either making trouble or thinking up new schemes. Another 
character is Huckelberry Finn, hated by all mothers and loved by 
all children. Tom is friends with Huck and they share many 
adventures together. Becky Thatcher, the daughter of a judge, who 
likes Tom but sometimes fights with him. Injun Joe is an indian 
who kills someone named Dr. Robinson and makes everyone believe 
that the real killer is a man named Muff Potter. Mr. Potter, a 
nice man, helps Tom and Huck to fish and fly kites.
D. This story takes place in St. Petersburg, Missouri, in the 
mid-1800's.
E. The main problem in this story is the many ways which Tom 
tries to avoid Injun Joe because as a witness to the murder of Dr. 
Robinson, Injun Joe is trying to kill Tom. Poor Tom also has to 
deal with being punished on a Saturday when he could be out 
playing. The last problem is how Becky and Tom will escape from a 
cave.
II. 
Tom, Sid, Tom' half brother, and Tom's Aunt Polly were sitting 
down at the table eating supper. Aunt Polly asked Tom questions 
hinting that she suspected him of playing hooky and going swimming 
instead of going to school. Aunt Polly gave up but then Sid 
pointed out that Tom had a different color thread than the one Aunt 
Polly sewed on Tom's collar. Tom's punishment was to whitewash the 
fence, but Tom wanted to go out and play. Tom used reverse 
psychology to make his friends think that whitewashing was an honor 
and they even gave him trinkets for the honor of whitewashing the 
fence. 
At school, Tom meets a new girl, Becky Thatcher, daughter of 
Judge Thatcher. Becky and Tom both like each other but Tom 
mentioned that he was engaged to Amy, and Becky hated him for it. 
Tom and his friend Huck go to the cemetery with a dead cat, a 
supposed wart cure. While at the cemetery they see Injun Joe kill 
Dr. Robinson while blaming Muff Potter. Both Tom and Huck swear to 
themselves that they will not say a thing about the murder. 
One day when looking for treasures in a haunted house, Tom and 
Huck overhear Injun Joe talking with another man about finding 
treasures. Tom and Huck decide to track the men in order to find 
the treasures which the men hide in the number 2.
Becky invites Tom to a picnic and they both end up getting 
lost inside a cave. Finally they find an opening in the cave and 
slip out without Injun Joe, who was there, realizing that Tom and 
Becky were there too. Becky's father decides to seal the cave so 
that no one will get lost in there. Tom asks that Judge Thatcher 
open the cave and they find Injun Joe's dead body. Tom returns to 
the cave with Huck and they notice a number 2 printed on the wall, 
the mark of the hidden treasure. Tom and Huck find the treasures 
under a big rock and bring their wealth back with them from the 
cave.
III.
A. My favorite character is Huck Finn because he is so free 
and doesn't worry about school or parents. He has the freedom to 
pick up Tom in the middle of the night and not worry about being 
caught. While the other children in the book are at school, Huck 
is relaxing and probably smoking without being criticized or 
punished for doing it.
IV.
I enjoyed reading this book because it has many ideas and 
adventures that I can easily relate to. This book was not hard to 
follow but it did have some challenging vocabulary words.
V. I would rate this book, on a scale of 1 - 5, a 4. I would 
recommend this book because it was put together nicely and well 
written. Mark Twain is a fine writer who writes interestingly, 
using metaphors, similes, etc.
VI. 1. vise - noun, a two jawed instrument which holds things 
steady while they are being worked on.
2. zephyr - noun, the west wind named after the ancient Greek 
god, Zephyrs; or any gentle breeze.
3. clandestinely - adverb, secretly.
4. conflagration - noun, a great destructive fire.
5. vivacity - noun, liveliness and animation.
VII.
1. At the beginning of the book I would agree with Twain's 
description of the story as a hymn to boyhood. The book warmly 
tells the story of childhood, especially boyhood. Although as the 
book progresses we see more and more of Tom as a boy becoming a 
man, maturing as all boys eventually do.
Bibliography
aventures of talm sayer bymark twain