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Tom Sawyer Analysis Essay

Decent Essays

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 …show more content…

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

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