Kenneth Tobisch
Mrs. Jobin
American Literature Honors
5 January 2012
Character Analysis of Tom Sawyer (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer)
Tom Sawyer is a complex character that represents the journey from childhood to adulthood that we all have experienced. The character development that Tom goes through during The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is long and sometimes inconsistent due to the episodic nature of the novel, but his character traits remain along with the overall message. Throughout the story, Tom Sawyer's main characteristics/traits become apparent within the first few chapters. Tom Sawyer is mischievous, envious, and adventurous.
Tom Sawyer, from the beginning of the novel, is shown to be incredibly mischievous for his
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It can also be considered an “opposites attract” scheme by Twain. As Tom has a stable, loving family and a home to go too. While Huck who is considered an orphan (due to being the town drunks son) sleeps where he wants, eats what he wants (if he can) and is never forced to go to school or do his “duties”. Most Importantly, Huck has fended for himself for years, and because of it has developed common sense beyond his years and grounding him self in his harsh reality. This is a stark contrast to Tom Sawyer, who creates worlds in his mind and has deep imagination. Even with all these differences Tom still envies the free spirited Huck and will go to great lengths to prove himself, even if Huck sees Tom as his closest friend already.
Tom throughout the story displays many characteristics including the previously discussed, but the most noticeable and important is his adventurous nature. Toms sense of adventure is what drives the story forward more times to count. The audience gets the first taste of Tom's adventurous nature is when Tom accompanies Huck to the graveyard where they encounter the villain of the novel, Injun Joe, killing a man. This demonstrates that Tom's adventures also are the cause for most of the novels conflicts, even if he doesn’t see it. Another adventure, or misadventure, is the trip to the island that Huck, Tom, and Joe take to be “pretend” pirates. This is where Tom, demonstrates his wide imagination (and, as previously
Tom Sawyer was an adventurous little boy who was always looking for attention. Throughout the chapters that we read I could understand that Tom had an enormous imagination and that he would do basically anything to receive some attention in return. Tom acted the way that he did so that he could receive some of the attention that he was missing with being an orphan.
Tom Sawyer show how he is a Persuasive leader While he is on Jackson Island, with Huck, and all of his interactions with his friends. Tom shows how he is Persuasive Leader on Jackson Island while he Convinces Joe and Huck to come, to stay, and to go back during their funeral. Tom Persuades Huck to do Many things including becoming Robber, to go find treasure,
In the prime first half of the book, the author explicates that Tom Sawyer is extremely childish and immature at numerous times throughout the inception of the novel. The readers can lucidly see this even in the first chapter, in which Tom encounters an elaborate, new boy in town and “In an instant, both boys were rolling and tumbling in the dirt, gripped together like cats. . . ” (Twain, 81). Tom also fascinates himself with unconventional things such as: “a large black beetle-pinchbug”, “dead cat”, “doorknobs”, and “a tick”. Furthermore, Tom also tends to do foolish and obviate things in attempts to achieve something and then realizes that these endeavors fail. A definite factor in the development of Tom’s mischievous nature is that his parents
Tom symbolizes the South, who only care about personal morality rather than morality to the entire population. Tom’s ideology influences Huck’s decisions for both him and Jim when faced with risk of exposure as Huck exclaims that “[Tom] would call it an adventure--that's what he'd call it; and he'd land on that wreck if it was his last act. And wouldn't he throw style into it?... I wish Tom Sawyer was here” (Twain 50). Instead adhering to the practicality of the situation, Huck is pulled by his id to pursue an “adventure” at the risk of both his and Jim’s lives.
A boring lifestyle is never appealing to an imaginative child. In Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Tom is a young child who dreams of an exciting and adventurous life outside his small town. Although while his dreams become more and more ambitious so does his reality. The sudden change in events soon begin to change Tom’s life. As Tom’s small town attracts a criminal everything Tom wishes for begins to come true only in a corrupt way that he never imagined. With all new to keep up with Tom is forced to mature and develop as a character along with those around by leaving behind his childish games and accepting reality. Twain uses character development in Tom and Huck Finn to create unique and special characters.
In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer is a hard kid to pin down. Not just literally, either. While he’s jumping over fences and getting lost and tricking everyone into thinking he’s dead, you keep going back and forth from thinking you know what kind of character traits he holds. He keeps the reader in constant confusion throughout the whole book, at least that’s what he did for me. Just when his selflessness shines through, there’s just as much emphasis, if not more, on his mischievous or selfish ways. He appears in three other novels by Twain: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer Abroad, and Tom Sawyer, Detective. Sawyer also appears in at least three unfinished Twain works, Huck and Tom Among the Indians, Schoolhouse Hill, and Tom Sawyer's Conspiracy.
In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the theme of individual identity, especially contrasted against mob mentality and assimilation, is present in almost every chapter of the novel. Throughout the novel, the characters within the story, especially Huck as the protagonist, make decisions regarding which type of mentality they will use, which then affects their relations with other characters, such as Tom Sawyer. In the book, Twain uses both Huck 's idealization of Tom and Tom, the physical being, as secondary characters to help the reader understand how Huck falls into both of these mentalities and how his identity as individual changes throughout the novel. This insight allows the reader to better understand Huck 's character by showing Huck 's response to the pressure to assimilate to mob mentality, mainly through his relationship with Tom, and development in his ability to think for himself by contrasting his behavior in Tom 's presence and absence along with the reasons this development occurs.
Throughout multiple exciting adventures and dangerous explorations in the novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, we see Tom Sawyer mature. He matures through the love of Aunt Polly, Becky, Huck and other characters in the novel. In his search for treasure, Tom learns about personal accountability. Even in everyday life, we watch him develop from a boy into an adult. From a selfish young, mischievous lad, Tom becomes a sincere, kind and responsible young man.
Mark Twain’s novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, is an exciting and adventurous novel filled with many unique characters. Some are sympathetic and others are not. Tom Sawyer is one the unsympathetic characters because he is dishonest, mischievous, and is always fighting.
Although loved by many, Tom Sawyer is the most selfish character in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This could be the opinion of many people if it wasn’t for adult characters such as the Duke, the Dauphin, and Pap Finn; Tom Sawyer is a young boy, therefore, his antics are seen as comical and there is less resentment towards his character. The character of Tom Sawyer is extremely egocentric and selfish because he displays blatant disregard for the practical way to make plans in life-or-death situations, doesn’t understand the gravity of murder and robbery, and he will do anything, no matter how crazy or impractical, to make himself seem like a hero.
Huck often cannot understand Tom’s Romantic ideals due to his practical nature, but Huck complacently follows him because he sees Tom as an authoritative figure. When Tom Sawyer starts his gang, Huck questions Tom’s made up adventures, noting
Huck Finn seemed like a rebel without a cause right from the start. He seemed as if he hadn’t a care in the world. Huckleberry Finn was also greatly influenced by Tom Sawyer. Huck even joined a band of robbers called “Tom Sawyer’s Gang” in which a group of young boys pretend to capture, rob, and murder people. He saw Tom as a role model, someone who he could look up to. Huck’s decisions during the course of the novel are solely based on Tom and whether he would see fit to it. Huck appeared as a naïve troublemaker in the beginning of the novel.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is a story of a young, mischievous boy who did not like punishment, school, or church. Tom Sawyer had learned a lot and had matured a lot by the end of the book. As a reader reads this book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer he will see that Tom Sawyer gets into a lot of trouble. Through this paper I hope to teach you that Tom Sawyer grew out of his mischievous ways eventually.
Tom and Huck are happy and rich and they promise to always stay together. The main character of the book is Tom Sawyer. Tom is an imaginative young man. Whenever Tom plays he pretends to be a pirate or Robin Hood and his friends would be his merry men.
Tom Sawyer is an adventurous boy who gets into mischief and trouble, but learns from his mistakes. Although in the beginning of the book, he was a troublemaker and was always yelled at by his Aunt Polly, in the end, he became a young man and was more mature than ever.