summary and analysis of adventures of tom sawyer€¦ · web viewchapter 1 summary: the novel...

Summary and Analysis of Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Summary and Analysis of Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Chapter 1 Summary:

The novel opens with Aunt Polly searching for Tom Sawyer, the young protagonist of the novel who, along with his younger brother Sidney, was sent to live in St. Petersburg, Missouri, after his mother's death. After hearing no answer to her calls, Polly finds Tom eating out of the jam closet. Tom escapes Aunt Polly's beating by diverting her attention, leading Polly into a tirade against Tom's irreverent ways.

During dinner, Aunt Polly tries to trick Tom into admitting that he played hooky from school that day to go swimming. But Tom, aware of Aunt Polly's motives, has sewn his shirt collar back in place after his afternoon swim. Aunt Polly apologizes to Tom for her suspicions, until Sidney - notorious for being "the Model Boy of the village" - points out that Tom's shirt is sewn together with black thread instead of the white thread that Aunt Polly had used that morning. Before she can punish him, Tom darts out the door and runs away from the house.

On the street, Tom runs into a well-dressed boy with a "citified air about him that ate into Tom's vitals." After a verbal fight, Tom and the nameless boy begin to throw fists at each other until Tom is finally victorious. Tom returns home late in the evening by climbing through the window... but Aunt Polly catches him in the act.

Chapter 1 Analysis:

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is considered one of the greatest works of American literature partly because it reflects so perfectly the culture of mid-1800s America. In a period where thoughts of gold and silver drove men West and industrialization had not yet begun, Twain was able to describe small-town life in detail. St. Petersburg is portrayed as a small, tight-knit community on the riverfront where the frontier culture and the classic Southern tradition meet.

At the start of the novel, the reader is immediately introduced to the core characters. The character portraits that are unfolded in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are extensive and intricate, a quality that makes this piece a distinct work of Mark Twain. In the first chapter, Aunt Polly is introduced as a religious, pious, and stubborn mannered lady; Tom's first impression leaves the reader thinking he is mischievous, lazy, and irresponsible. But as the story unfolds, Twain develops both Aunt Polly and Tom into multi-dimensional characters whose emotions and actions are somewhat unpredictable. The reader, then, must discern between the superficial and the meaningful portrayals of each character.

Chapter 2 Summary:

On Saturday morning, Tom is forced to whitewash the fence outside the house as punishment for his behavior the night before. The day is beautiful, making the chore seem even more dreadful; in fact, Tom would rather do Jim's - the black servant's - chores than whitewash the fence.

Tom begins the job and imagines how all the "free boys" who come skipping by will make fun of him for having to do work on a Saturday. In perhaps one of the most famous scenes of the novel, Tom tricks the neighborhood boys into completing his entire chore. Tom pretends to love whitewashing, putting fake enthusiasm into his work. "Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?" Tom asks. Soon, all the neighborhood boys beg Tom for the chance to whitewash in exchange for small trinkets. In conclusion, Tom contends "that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do."

Chapter 2 Analysis:

The use of omniscient narrative is very important in establishing Twain's character portraits. A first-person narrative (used in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) allows only the viewpoint of one character. With a first-person narrative, the reader must question his source of information and can only "see" what the narrator "sees." However, omniscient narration divulges all: the reader can take all his facts as truth. In turn, we are allowed not only to see all the activity within the novel but we are allowed within the thoughts of each character. In chapter two, this narrative plays an especially important role in portraying Tom Sawyer's true intellect and understanding of the world around him

Tom, who is initially portrayed as an incorrigible youth, is able to make commentary on relative nature of "work" and "play." Tom not only loves to fight and play in the dirt, but also has a profound knowledge of human nature that is astounding for his young age. Using his "smarts," he is able to fool his peers as well as outsmart Aunt Polly and other authority figures. Tom may behave like a little boy, but he is able to think greater than perhaps any adult.

Chapter 3 Summary:

For the time remaining of that Saturday, Tom is in good spirits, playing in a mock battle with his band of friends. Afterwards, he passes by Jeff Thatcher's house and notices a "lovely little blue-eyed creature with yellow hair" with whom he instantly falls in love, so much so that the girl he was in love with the week before - Amy Lawrence - is completely out of his heart. Until suppertime, Tom lingers in front of the Thatcher house, "showing off" by doing various gymnastic tricks, hoping that the little girl inside the house will see him.

During supper, however, Tom's moods are lowered when Aunt Polly raps his knuckles for attempting to steal sugar. When Sid reaches for the sugar-bowl behind Polly's back, he drops the bowl onto the floor. When Aunt Polly returns, she immediately begins to beat Tom. When she learns that it was Sid who was at fault, she doesn't apologize but instead justifies her beating, though inside she longs to say something loving to Tom. Tom, conscious of his Aunts ruefulness yet refusing to acknowledge it, wallows in self-pity. He imagines his own funeral, and begins to cry to himself, reflecting that he leaves the house when his cousin Mary enters the house, unable to withstand any ounce of happiness.

He proceeds to wander through the streets, contemplating who would miss him when he died. Would the lovely "Adored Unknown" from this afternoon miss him? Presently, he wanders to her house, and stares up at her window, imagining the little girl crying over his lifeless body. But his imagination is interrupted by the maidservant who dumps a bucket of water out the window, and the drenched Tom Sawyer returns home.

Chapter 3 Analysis:

In the previous chapters we have seen Tom as carefree, but there is a darker side to Tom's character. More often than not, Tom's carefree attitude masks what can be construed as low self-esteem. He constantly wants what he calls "glory." He is willing to trade his worldly possessions for the glory of receiving a Sunday school Bible, and he loves to show off. But when he feels unloved, he falls into a kind of depression where he questions his own existence by imagining his funeral. Will anybody care when he is gone? Despite encouragement from his cousin Mary and punishments from Aunt Polly, Tom will never be a "good boy" because he can only gain the attention he craves through bad behavior.

The image of Tom's death and his funeral is a recurring image as well as an example of foreshadowing. Throughout the novel, this constant description of death builds the idea of the "wild frontier," where frontiersmen were notorious for testing their own mortality by braving unmapped territories and undertaking dare-devilish adventures. Tom's own crazy adventures epitomize the life of the carefree frontiersman. On a more profound level, one can take Tom's mental pictures of his own death as a questioning of his own existence. We see that Tom is not religious when he forgets to pray; he fails to exceed at schoolwork; above all else, he thinks that he has failed at gaining Aunt Polly's love. He is by no means considered a "productive" citizen of St. Petersburg like his brother, Sid. Thus we see that even Tom Sawyer seemingly the most carefree and courageous boy in St. Petersburg questions his own worth.

Chapter 4 Summary:

On Sunday morning, Tom has still not memorized his Sunday school assignment of five Biblical verses. As she washes and dresses him, his cousin Mary attempts to help him learn, but he still has nothing but a vague general idea of the lesson. In church, the recitation of two verses was rewarded with a blue ticket; 1000 blue tickets could be exchanged for a bound Bible, which only the brightest and most diligent students earned. Tom has been trading various trinkets for tickets, not because he wants a Bible but because he wants the glory that comes with it.

That day in church, the visiting family of Judge Thatcher is given the highest seat of honor. Tom immediately begins to "show off" by acting up because the Judge's daughter is none other than the little girl he is in love with. In an effort to gain even more glory and attention, Tom has finally traded for enough tickets to receive a Bible. But after receiving the Bible, the Judge asks Tom what the names of the first two disciples were, and he incorrectly answers "David and Goliath."

Chapter 4 Analysis:

In chapter four, the reader is first introduced to Mary Tom's cousin who is attempting to prepare Tom for Sunday school. Mary is portrayed by Twain as a "saintly" figure in the novel. Her character, synonymous with purity and chastity, can be seen as paralleling her ultimate namesake the Virgin Mary. Twain spends a good portion of the chapter describing the actions between Tom and Mary for two particular reasons. First, we see that Mary is perhaps one of the only authority figures Tom trusts. He allows her to help him with his verses, wash him, and dress him. Second, we see that Mary also trusts Tom. Unlike Aunt Polly who is always quick to punish Tom, Mary sees past Tom's pranks and mischief. Tom is unable to fool Mary, exemplified by his failed attempts to avoid washing his face. Moreover, she provides Tom with praise, referring to him as a "good boy" and rewarding his good behavior with a brand-new Barlow knife. Thus the relationship between the two is built on a foundation of trust and, in turn, Tom learns to respect as well as obey Mary.

Though Mary is described in a revered fashion, the Church is completely satirized in chapter four. Twain's first blow to the Church comes when Tom is able to underhandedly trade for enough tickets to earn a Dore Bible, showing how even the Church could not make the distinction between hard work and bought favors. Twain also seems to laugh at the Church in his portrayal of the Sunday school teachers and Mr. Walters, the superintendent. Although he mentions that Mr. Walters was "very sincere and honest at heart," Twain compares him at the pulpit to a "singer who stands forward on the platform and sings a solo at a concert." This metaphor depicts the religious authority to be somewhat of a show person rather than a member of the clergy. His lectures on religion are likened to a concert: meaningless and purely for entertainment. Similarly, Twain's physical portrayal of Mr. Walter's lacks seriousness, using similes that compare his collar to a bank check and his shoes to sleds. But perhaps the most ironic of moments comes when Twain uses the words "showing off" in description of Mr. Walters and who attended the Sunday school. How humorous that the same words Twain uses to describe the immature Tom Sawyer and all the misbehaved Sunday school children apply to the adults as well!

Chapter 5 Summary:

Chapter five revolves around the remainder of Sunday morning following Tom's schooling, specifically with the morning sermon. The whole town is in attendance: Aunt Polly, Sid, Mary, Tom; the widow Douglas; Mayor and Mrs. Ward; lawyer Riverson; and a variety of other characters that remain nameless, such as the town belle, matrons, and young clerks. The church is bustling with noise as the minister begins his hymn, and Twain remarks that there was never "a church choir that was not ill-bred."

After the hymn and notices of meetings and societies have been read, the minister begins a prayer that seems excessive, or as Twain puts it: "a good, generous, prayer." The prayer pleads for the church, for the "children of the church," for the state to the President, for the "poor sailors" to the "Oriental despotisms," and continues on in this manner until a final "Amen" concludes it. Much like the prayer, the remainder of church is barely endured by Tom Sawyer, who counts the pages of the sermon but fails to listen to any of it. Tom's attentions, instead, focus on the antics of a poodle playing with a beetle. The poodle, eventually, sits on the beetle and disrupts the sermon with its distressful howling and barking, bringing the entire congregation to stifled laughter. After the chaotic disruption, the sermon continues and Sunday services conclude.

Chapter 5 Analysis:

The first idea that Twain establishes in chapter five is the centrality of the Church to the town of St. Petersburg. On Sunday morning, all of the town's "respected" inhabitants attend the Church; it is as much a social function as it is a religious one. The town of St. Petersburg is small, poor, and quiet; the church, with its cracked church bell that resounds through the town, becomes a quintessential symbol of small-town life.

Ironically, it is this quality of small-town life the centrality of the church that Twain satirizes throughout the entire novel. The minister is described as unnecessarily long-winded. The subject of his sermon is never given any importance; instead, Twain focuses on his speech and mannerisms, describing his sentences as a plunge "downŠ from a spring-board." Even the prayer seems to drag on forever, with the minister sending his prayers out to anyone and everyone. Even the "sociables" are unable to stay attuned to the misters during his monotonous speech.

The antics between Tom, the dog, and the beetle provide comic relief to the church. What is most important, however, is the fact that the attendees pay more attention to the antics of the pinch-bug than they do to the speech given from the pulpit. When the church is "suffocating with suppressed laughter," Twain describes it as "unholy mirth." This dichotomy between the serious and the playful - the moral and the mischievous - parallels Tom's constant struggle between his need for adventure and his will to "be good."

Chapter 6 Summary:

On Monday morning, Tom finds himself in bed and wanting to avoid school that morning. Eagerly, he attempts to avoid school by "playing" sick, groaning and moaning enough to wake Sid, who is sleeping by his side. Once Aunt Polly comes to check on Tom's ailments, he tells her: "Oh Auntie, my sore toe's mortified." After Aunt Polly tells Tom to "shut up that nonsense," Tom then proceeds to tell her about his sore, loose tooth, hoping that maybe it will provide him with an excuse to skip school. Aunt Polly simply pulls out his tooth and sends Tom off to school without another word.

On his way to school, Tom stops to talk to Huckleberry Finn, the "juvenile pariah" of the town admired by all children for his aloofness and hated by all mothers for his bad manners. He comes and goes as he pleases, an orphan of-sorts who doesn't have the duty of going to school or completing chores. Huckleberry is dressed in cast-off clothes: a wide-brimmed hat, trousers with only one-suspender, baggy pants, and a worn coat. Tom, who was forbidden to play with Huck, begins to discuss the correct way to cure warts; Huck, who holds a dead cat in a burlap sack, is planning on entering a cemetery at midnight to perform a witch's ritual to cure warts. Both boys discuss the merits of various superstitions and strange chants before they agree to meet later that night to go to the cemetery together.

After trading his tooth for a tick and saying goodbye to Huck, Tom races to school. Knowing that his punishment for tardiness will be to sit on the girls' section of the schoolhouse, Tom explains his lateness by saying he stopped to talk with Huckleberry Finn, for the only vacant girls seat was next to the blonde, pig-tailed girl that Tom has fallen in love with: Becky Thatcher. After a period of flirtatious exhibition, Tom writes "I love you" on his slate, which is returned with Becky's pleasure. The two agree to stay at school for dinner so that Tom can teach Becky how to draw. The remaining time spent in class is futile, for Tom has not studied and makes errors in every area of his studies: geography, spelling, and reading.

Chapter 6 Analysis:

Here the reader is introduced to Huckleberry Finn, one of Tom Sawyer's most trusted confidants as well as what Twain calls "the juvenile pariah of the village." The son of the town drunkard, Huck abides by no authority and is envied by all of the "respectable boys" of St. Petersburg: Huck is free. The epitome of childhood and mischief, Huck lives under different social standards than other citizens: he doesn't attend church regularly, never goes to school, wears hand-me-down rags rather than Sunday school suits, and smokes a pipe. But rather than depict him as the social outcast that he was, Twain describes Huck in an almost glorified manner (Huck becomes the central figure in one of the most infamous American literary works of all time: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn). "In a word," writes the author," everything that goes to make life precious, that boy had." According to Twain, Huck lives life to the fullest by discarding the nonsense and conformity imposed by the "sociables" of St. Petersburg.

Huck's different standard of living is exemplified by the way in which he and Tom discuss their various rituals and superstitions. Both Tom and Huck are believers of the mysterious. They believe in witches' spells, bad luck, and try to cure everyday ailments like warts by performing strange incantations. No matter how far-fetched their ideas sound, Tom and Huck discuss their secret rituals and chants with the utmost seriousness. In one sense, their belief in the unbelievable reflects their impressionability and naiveté. The two boys still think and act with a kind of immaturity, and this scene seems to remind the reader that Tom and Huck are, after all, just children.

On a more satirical level, parallels can be drawn between the superstitions of the boys and the religious beliefs of the Church. To Twain, both are "hodge-podge" and neither is believable. This connection implies that characters, such as Aunt Polly, who are portrayed as religious are just as naïve as children. Between chapter six and the previous chapters, the reader can draw the conclusion that Twain was highly critical of the Christian faith. According to biographers, Twain himself never accepted the Bible as a guide to spiritual salvation and regarded much of the organized religion as "ignorance and superstition" (Long 178).

Chapter 7 Summary:

Until dinner, Tom is restless and school and amuses himself by playing with the tick Huckleberry traded him. After a short time, Tom and "bosom friend" Joe Harper begin to fight over who is allowed to play with the tick, disrupting the classroom with a fistfight and attracting the attention of the schoolmaster. Finally noon comes, and Tom meets Becky in the empty schoolhouse after all the other pupils have gone home for dinner.

After discussing rats, chewing gum, and circuses, Tom asks Becky if she would like to be engaged to him; his definition of engagement is simply telling "a boy you won't ever have anybody but him" and then sealing it with a kiss. After whispering, "I love you" in each other's ears, the bashful Becky and Tom kiss. Inadvertently in his giddiness, Tom blunders that he was previously "engaged" to Amy Lawrence. After learning this, Becky rejects Tom and breaks into tears despite Tom's pleading. Tom attempts to win her over again by giving her his most prized possession brass drawer-knob but she throws it at the ground in anger. Heartbroken and enraged, Tom marches out of the schoolhouse. After realizing that Tom has left, Becky calls after him but is too late.

Chapter 7 Analysis:

The antics of Tom, Joe, and the tick during their study time at school depict how useless Tom thinks education to be. The schoolhouse is the antithesis of adventure. Twain describes the air as "utterly dead" and uses a simile comparing the murmur of scholars to the drone of bees. School inhibits Tom from his mischief and is seen as a kind of jail. For Tom, school represents the opposite of the "frontier ideal" the glorification of adventure and exploration -- presented in the novel.

Chapter six also describes the first "courtship" between Tom and Becky. Their flirtatious behavior can be seen as comical, for both Tom and Becky are not much older than ten years old. Funny enough, their conversation turns from the discussion of chewing gum and circuses to marriage and love. It is ironic that throughout the entire novel, Tom backlashes against authoritative figures, yet in this scene, he is eager to act "adult-like" by becoming engaged. Twain also seems to imply that adult relationships are more child-like than most think. Tom and Becky feel jealousy and anger; their trivial feuds are commonplace in most adult relationships. Just as the two children in love seem to act like adults, adults in a relationship sometimes seem to behave like children. Twain's commentary proposes that love is an illogical, irrational necessity.

Chapter 8 Summary:

Meanwhile, Tom runs off into the dense woods, somewhere far away from the schoolhouse where Becky is. The woods are still, adding to Tom's lonely and melancholy state. Tom sits and begins to consider what it would be like to die, and at this point, the only thing that makes him hesitate is his bad Sunday school record. Becky would be sorry, he thinks to himself, about the way she treated him if only he were dead. "Ah, if only he could die temporarily!"

Instead, Tom decides he wants to run away from home and enter the pirate profession as "Tom Sawyer the Pirate the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main." After daydreaming for a while and playing around with "incantations" and witch's spells, Tom hears a trumpet blast in the distance. Flinging off his jacket and moving some brush to reveal a secret stash of toys, Tom is met by Joe Harper who is clad with the same toys: a bow and arrow, a tin trumpet, and a fake sword. The two boys reenact the story of Robin Hood with their gear, then finish playing for the day swearing that "they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than President of the United States forever."

Chapter 8 Analysis:

Asking the rhetorical question, "What had he done?" Tom sinks into a melancholy mood. In this scene, Tom is heartbroken and we see him at one of his most vulnerable points in the novel, when he contemplates death as an answer to his problems something that recurs throughout the novel and foreshadows later events. But the reader should note that Tom's does not center his thoughts around suicide so much as around revenge. When he imagines himself dead, he does so out of self-pity. He wishes to hurt the people who care about him the most, to make them feel guilty for their "wrong-doings." In this manner, we see that Tom can be self-absorbed and selfish. His wish to "die temporarily" is a plan that serves only to elevate his own self-esteem.

When Tom and Joe play "Robin Hood," Tom's craving for attention is also portrayed. Tom, of course, acts as Robin Hood whom he considers to be the most noble of thieves. The image of Robin Hood is a motif of the novel, a game that Tom often plays with his friends. Robin Hood's gallantry appeals to Tom's sense of the romantic: Robin Hood is loved by all, and hated by only the people he steals from. His desire to be like Robin Hood stems from his need to be the center-of-attention. We also see that Tom's aspiration is not to cause mischief, but to be a "noble" figure like Robin Hood. But in actuality, the only way Tom can again attention is to misbehave.

Chapter 9 Summary:

Later that night, after Sid has fallen asleep, Tom waits for Huck's "meow" as the signal. About to succumb to slumber, Huck finally arrives and gives the signal and Tom becomes wide-awake, climbs out the window, off the roof, and runs off to the town graveyard.

The "old-fashioned Western" style graveyard is about a mile-and-a-half away from town, with overgrown grass and an eerie wind. The two boys hide themselves among a cluster of elm trees, just a few feet away from Hoss Williams (who had just been buried) waiting for the spirits to come at midnight. After remaining in the same spot for quite some time, the boys finally hear the sound of muffled voices from the other end of the graveyard, confident that devils are approaching them. But to their surprise, they recognize the voices as the figures come closer and closer!

The voices belong to Old Muff Potter - the town drunk, "that murderin' half-breed" Injun Joe, and young Dr. Robinson. By the light of their lantern, Tom and Huck make out what appears to be a grave robbery. Injun Joe and Potter dig up the coffin and remove the body as Dr. Robinson directs them. Just as the corpse is placed in a wheelbarrow, Muff Potter demands more money from the doctor, who refuses to pay any more. Injun Joe intervenes threatening the doctor with his fists. "You done more than [pay us]," says Joe, recalling how five years ago Dr. Robinson had turned the Injun away from his door when he was asking for food. With revenge on his mind, Injun Joe shouts: "And now I've got you, and you got to settle, you know!"

Dr. Robinson is quick to strike Injun Joe to the ground, after which Muff Potter tackles the doctor to the ground. The doctor flings himself free and strikes Potter unconscious with heavy headboard of the grave. Seeing his chance, Injun Joe grabs the knife Potter had dropped during struggle and stabs the doctor in the chest. As the fatally wounded doctor falls over Potter, Huck and Tom run away in fright.

"That score is settled," says Injun Joe as he robs the doctor's body and then places the bloodied knife in Potter's (who is still unconscious) open hand. When Potter comes to, Injun Joe acts as if it is Potter who has stabbed young Robinson to death. Convinced that he has murdered the doctor, Muff Potter begs Injun Joe not to disclose the events of the night, and the chapter closes with the empty graveyard.

Chapter 9 Analysis:

Chapter nine represents a turning point in the novel: the murder that Tom and Huck witness breaks the sense of innocence and wholesomeness that has, until then, enveloped the small-town life of St. Petersburg. The tone of the chapter reflects this sense of gloom. Twain's description of the night is ominous of what is to happen: everything is "dismally still," the night is dark, and Tom begins to notice the eerie stillness. Twain builds up a feeling of anxiety by focusing on details and using very simple syntax at the start of the chapter, describing the ticking of the clock, the creaking stairs, Aunt Polly's muffled snore, and various other noises of the night.

Twain places a special emphasis on the stillness of the night, both in the house and at the graveyard. The stillness is described both before and after the murder; only when Injun Joe, Muff, and Dr. Robinson are present is the silence disrupted. In effect, this description reflects how the murder will break the "stillness" of Tom's world, shattering the illusion of small-town life. The "stillness" is symbolic of the security and unadulterated lifestyle that is about to be shaken completely by the events of that night.

Similarly, one can draw meaning out of Tom's and Huck's mistaken assumption that the figures approaching them in the graveyard were devils. Ironically, the grown men become more frightening than any devil or witch in that they haunt Tom's conscience and thoughts. Even young Dr. Robinson, who was the victim of Injun Joe, was guilty of grave robbery. Twain effectively portrays human nature as fully capable of evil, a pessimism that is present in many of his other works.

Chapter 10 Summary:

The two boys flee from the graveyard in horror at the scene they had witnessed: the murder of Dr. Robinson by Injun Joe. Out of breath and always looking over their shoulder, Tom and Huck manage to run all the way to the deserted tannery where they find shelter.

Once they gain their breath, the boys rationalize as to what they should do. Not knowing that Injun Joe is attempting to frame Muff Potter for the murder, the boys decide to not tell a soul about what they had seen for fear that Injun Joe would seek revenge upon them as well. They sign a contract to keep their secret "mum" (an image of the contract in Tom's handwriting is placed within the text) and sign their initials in blood after pricking their fingers with needles. After they bury the contract, Huck and Tom hear a dog howling a sign that death is coming, according to black slaves' tales. Still afraid for their lives, the boys let out a sigh when they realize the stray dog is howling directly at Muff Potter. After Tom and Huck say good-bye, Tom sneaks back into his bed through the window, unaware that Sid is wide awake.

The next morning after breakfast, Tom finds out that Sid has told on him once more when Aunt Polly takes him aside. But instead of "flogging him," Polly simply weeps and asks Tom "how he could go and break her old heart so." Guilt and shame rise in Tom, forcing him into a miserable mood for the rest of the day. At school, his mood is none the better when both he and Joe Harper take a flogging for playing hooky the day before. Tom's mood sinks even further when, in his desk, he finds his brass knob wrapped in paper. The chapter ends with the line: "This final feather broke the camel's back."

Chapter 10 Analysis:

After witnessing the murder of Dr. Robinson, Tom and Huck promise to "keep mum" by signing a contract in blood. Their silence shows that they have not yet realized the gravity of their situation. They sign the contract in blood, half mimicking the actions of pirates or robbers. They don't realize the gravity, or reality, of their situation or the situation that Muff Potter will soon be in. Twain uses the howling of the stray dog to foreshadow Muff's misfortune.

In this chapter, we also see that Tom truly cares for Aunt Polly. Despite the trouble he may get himself into, Tom never means to hurt the old woman. "This was worse than a thousand whippings," thinks Tom as Aunt Polly cries over him. When he cries and pleads for his forgiveness, the reader is given no doubt of Tom's sincerity. Similarly, we see that neither Aunt Polly nor Sid is able to realize Tom's sincerity and his better qualities. Like most other young boys, Tom is attracted to mischief but he is still a good boy at heart.

Chapter 11 Summary:

At noon that day, the words had spread through town about the murder of Doc Robinson. A bloody knife, identified as Muff Potter's, had been found close to the crime scene. It was said that one citizen had come across Muff Potter washing himself particularly suspicious because Muff was known for his lack of cleanliness in the river, and it didn't help that he could not be found anywhere. Meanwhile, the entire town is gathered at the graveyard, including Tom and Huck, when Muff Potter unexpectedly returns to the crime scene. Confronted by the crowd as well as the bloody knife now in possession of the Sheriff, Muff breaks down and admits to the murder. Injun Joe, who is present, tells the listening citizens the tale of how Dr. Robinson was murdered, but lies and claims Muff committed the act of violence in a drunken rage. Both Huck and Tom are shocked when they realize that Injun Joe is lying, yet ignore their consciences and remain silent.

In the days following, Sidney begins to notice a change of behavior in his brother. Tom tosses in his sleep, keeping Sid awake with his nightmares. At school, Sid notices that Tom seemed to lose interest in all schoolyard activity, including the dissection of dead cats. Instead of playing with the other children, Tom would sneak away from the schoolyard to the jail cell where Muff Potter was held prisoner, smuggling small tokens and gifts through the barred cell window an outlet to ease Tom's guilty conscience.

In the meantime, the court trial for Dr. Robinson's murder is being planned. Though the citizens of St. Petersburg secretly wish to tar-and-feather Injun Joe for his escapades in grave robbing, no one is willing to come forth and suggest a punishment for the "half-breed." The whole town, scared of Injun Joe's poisonous demeanor, decide not to charge him with any crime for the moment.


When Injun Joe openly lies and frames Muff Potter for the murder, both Tom and Huck half expect "God's lightening upon [Injun Joe's] head" as punishment." From this, the reader can gather that both of the young boys possess some kind of moral character, despite their bad reputations. What the boys begin to learn in this chapter is that retribution, or justice, is not always so straightforward. Lightning will not strike one down if one lies; instead, they begin to learn that one's conscience can provide a more powerful form of punishment. Tom's conscience slowly begins to pervade his mind, and in an attempt to silence it, Tom visits Muff potter in jail.

Twain also presents one of the darker sides of human nature: how men can create their own truths. In Tom Sawyer, we see a whole town willing to condemn Muff Potter without so much as a trial. Even before Muff Potter has admitted to the crime, the citizens of St. Petersburg have already charged him with the crime, shouting, "It's him! It's him!" The same man whom Huck and Tom remember as a kind heart who drank too much for his own good becomes a beast in the eyes of the "good citizens." In fact, we see that Injun Joe is not the only guilty villain; Twain depicts two other crimes. First, there is the town of St. Petersburg, whose inhabitants are quick to assume and punish the innocent. Second, there is Tom and Huck who ignore their conscience and fail to tell the truth. While the town and the boys are guilty of being "passive" in comparison to Injun Joe's brutality, Twain juxtaposes them to point out that each misdeed is equally serious.

Chapter 12 Summary:

Soon, Tom's mind "drifted away from its secret troubles" regarding the murder because Becky Thatcher had become ill and had stopped attending school. What if she should die, thought Tom. He no longer took any interest in playing games, pirating, or causing mischief. Aunt Polly, concerned with Tom's health, practices a multitude of home-remedies and cure-alls on Tom. Gullible when it comes to quack periodicals and medicine, Polly tries everything from water-treatments to feeding him "Pain-killer."

The "Pain-killer" became a regular treatment, and to Tom, it tasted like liquid fire. Tired of the daily doses, one day Tom feeds a spoonful to the cat, which upon receiving the medicine begins to do somersaults in the air while "spreading chaos and destruction in his path." When Polly learns that Tom has fed the cat the painkiller, Tom explains for his actions by saying that he "done it out of pity for [the cat] because he hadn't any aunt" to "burn him out" and "roast his bowels." Polly suddenly feels remorse, seeing that her endless doses of medicine were as much torture for Tom as it was for the cat and the two come to an unspoken understanding.

Every day now, Tom has been reaching school ahead of timeŠ an unusual occurrence. Loitering by the school gate rather than with his friends, Tom seems sick. When Jeff Thatcher arrives, Tom tries to question about Becky to no avail. At last, Becky returns to school and Tom's habits seem to turn around almost immediately. In his attempts to show off by doing somersaults, chasing the other boys, and tumbling around, Becky responds: "Some people think they're mighty smart." The embarrassed and crestfallen Tom sneaks away from the schoolyard.


The plot shifts away from the murder when Tom learns that Becky has stopped coming to school due to illness. His state of melancholy seems to manifest itself in his everyday activity, and Tom becomes dreary. Aunt Polly's ability to care for Tom is questioned in this situation when she tries to "fix" Tom's moods by giving him "cure-alls," including painkiller. She isn't able to perceive that Tom's ailments are not physical but emotional. When Tom feed the cat a dose of painkiller, it is his way of showing Aunt Polly that she is treating him like some kind of experiment. "If he'd Œa' had [an aunt]Š she'd Œa' roaster his bowels out of him Œthout any more feeling than if he was a human," cries Tom. Although their relationship seems to strengthen after the incident, the reader is able to see that even Aunt Polly, the authority of the household, is liable to make mistakes.

Tom becomes even more crestfallen when Becky snubs him in the schoolyard. Like he does with Aunt Polly, he attempts to win Becky's attention by "showing off." But with Becky, he is unable to easily win her over by simply displaying his usual antics. It is humorous to see that Tom believes he is acting "heroic" by acting so childish: war-whopping, yelling, laughing, chasing boys, and throwing handsprings. Tom will learn later in his adventures that being a hero means much more than being the center-of-attention.

Chapter 13 Summary:

Full of self-pity, and ready to sulk, Tom walks down the street away from school thinking himself to be some kind of social degenerate: "He was a forsaken, friendless boy." In his plight of loneliness, Tom decides that society has forced him to go into a life of crime. Now sobbing and utterly dismal, Tom chances to come across Joe Harper, also crying for similar reasons. Joe, whose mother had whipped him for drinking cream (a crime of which he was innocent), is in tears and has decided to lead the life of a hermit; but after Tom's persuasion, Joe agrees that a life of crime would be more desirable. So the two boys, determined to become pirates, plan to run away from home and live on Jackson's Island: an uninhabited, narrow, wooded island in the middle of the Mississippi River.

Around midnight, Tom "the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main," Joe Harper "Terror of the Red Seas," and Huck Finn "the Red-Handed" meet by the bank of the river with stolen goods: a skillet, ham, tobacco, bacon, and other trifles. By raft, the gang of three drift toward Jackson's Island. After landing safely and setting up "camp," the boys contemplate the desirable lifestyle of pirates. But after Huck has drifted off to sleep and the campfire dies down, both Tom and Joe silently begin to regret their actions, listening to their guilty consciences. Each says his prayers silently in his head and inwardly resolves never to steal again. Consciences satisfied, each member of the pirate gang succumbs to sleep.


The river is a common motif in Twain's works, stemming from his experience traveling in steamboats on the Mississippi River. In this chapter, the image of the river becomes not only a symbol of "frontier adventure," but also of a turning point in Tom's life. In literature, the endless flow of a river has evolved into an archetype of life itself. Often, crossing the banks of a river can be taken to symbolize a "rite of passage." In applying this definition to Tom's adventure on Jackson Island, we do see that the river is a kind of boundary between reality St. Petersburg, Becky, Aunt Polly, school and Tom's fantasy. Once he has crossed the river, he is no longer a troubled little boy, but a fearless pirate Tom Sawyer, the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main. By running away to Jackson Island, Tom attempts to runaway from reality.

But we see that Tom is unable to run away from his conscience. He not only says his prayers to himself but also feels guilty for eating a stolen ham. Still afraid that a thunderbolt will be sent to strike him down for his crime, both Tom and Joe vow never to steal in their piracies, for fear of freaking one of the commandments. Fishing, swimming, and doing whatever he pleases, Tom may be able to disobey authority, but he is unable to sleep if he disobeys his conscience.

Chapter 14 Summary:

The next morning, Tom awakes before the other two boys and marvels at the beauty of nature, admiring the plight of a small worm, a trail of ants, a ladybug, the calls of various birds. As Twain describes: "All Nature was wide awake and stirring now." When the other two boys rise, they begin their new lifestyles as pirates. "Living off the fat of the land," the boys swim, play, fish, explore the island, and lay around in the shade. But despite their freedom to do what they please, homesickness creeps over the boys. Though afraid to admit it, each falls to thinking about their friends and family back on the mainland.

But the peaceful atmosphere of Jackson's Island is suddenly disrupted by a "deep sullen boomŠ floating down out of the distance." As the boys investigate further, they find that the sounds are coming from cannons being shot over the waters of the Mississippi River a practice used to bring the bodies of drowning victims afloat. Tom comes to realize that the search party is for them, with the residents of St. Petersburg presuming the missing boys have drowned in river. Triumphant that they were missed sorely by those back home, the boys finally feel it is worthwhile to lead the life of a pirate.

Soon thereafter, night closes in on the small island and the pirate "troupe." Once Huck and Joe are fast asleep, Tom sneaks away from camp cautiously. He stops to write something on a piece of sycamore bark before he tiptoes away and heads for the island shore.


When Tom wakes up the next morning, he finds beauty in all the insects, the animals, and the scenery of Jackson Island. "The marvel of Nature shaking off sleep and going to work unfolded itself to the musing boy," writes Twain, personifying nature into a kind of all-powerful creator. Twain fills the chapter with descriptive images: a little green worm, a dewy leaf, a brown-spotted lady-bug, the birds, and the foliage. In doing so, he expresses a reverence toward nature that was very prominent in his philosophy on life. According to many of his biographers, Twain often talked about the "unseen forces of creationŠ bringing the seasons with their miracles of diversity and beauty." Through Tom's character, the reader can perceive this appreciation in the beauty of nature.

The atmosphere on the island is a very peaceful one, the land not yet domesticated like the mainland off the Mississippi. The unadulterated landscape seems to reflect the innocence of the young boys as they live off the island. Away from home, they care nothing for society and all its ills. Rather, they are pirates. The only things that disrupt the peacefulness of the boys are the boom of the cannons and their own thoughts of home.

Chapter 15 Summary:

Stealing away from the other two boys, Tom decides to return home in order to deliver a message (written on the sycamore bark) to Aunt Polly. Because the raft has already drifted away, Tom sneaks himself onto a ferryboat headed toward the banks of St. Petersburg. After safely making it on shore, Tom hurries back home only to peer through the sitting room window and see Aunt Polly, Sid, Mary, and Joe Harper's mother in a solemn state. Quietly sneaking through the door, Tom hides under the bed and eavesdrops on their conversation.

Aunt Polly and Mrs. Harper are weeping and praying for the lost boys, who are presumed to be dead after drowning in the river. He learns that if the bodies remain undiscovered until Sunday, then a funeral service is to be held that morning. Staying hidden until everyone has either left or retired to bed, Tom hears Aunt Polly "making broken-hearted ejaculations" in her sleep, sobbing for "her Tom," and asking for forgiveness for every licking and scolding. Touched and full of pity for the old woman, Tom finally steals out from under the bed when Polly is finally asleep and kisses her on the lips. But after thinking twice, he decides not to give Aunt Polly his letter. Instead, he returns to the ferry landing, and makes his way back to the island on a stolen skiff.

By the time Tom has returned to camp, it is daylight and the pirates prepare for a day of fishing and exploring.


When Tom returns home and sees Aunt Polly crying over his death, he realizes that one of his fantasies of being "dead temporarily" has been fulfilled. Previously, Tom had wished to be dead when he had been full of self-pity. His idea was to make those who had hurt him suffer in guilt and regret for treating him in the wrong manner. He gets exactly what he wished for: Aunt Polly is heartbroken over mistreating him, and even Sid seems sorrowful. But Tom realizes that this scene provides him little comfort, for he feels nothing but pity for Aunt Polly and her sufferings.

An important observation to make is that Tom's return happens in the night. In writing the novel, there is an incredible emphasis between night and day, light and dark. The murder of Dr. Robinson occurs during the night, and so do the later "outings" that Tom and Huck undertake. Nighttime is often used as an archetype; here, the night can be seen as a symbol of death and darkness. For Tom, who is believed to be dead, sneaks into the house almost as if he is ghost of some sort. When he returns to St. Petersburg, he really does act as if he were dead: nobody notices his presence and he seems to "haunt" Aunt Polly as she sleeps.

Chapter 16 Summary:

After returning to camp, Tom mentions nothing of his adventures the night before. Instead, the boys take on variety of activities: whopping and prancing, swimming, wrestling, and fishing. But presently, Tom finds himself drawing the name "BECKY" in the sand and both Joe and Huck grow melancholy. They are homesick. After arguing with Tom, both Joe and Huck admit that that pirate life isn't what they expected and wish to return to St. Petersburg. Tom, unable to convince them to stay on the island, is forced to reveal his secret plan (which remains a secret to the reader). After marveling over Tom's brilliance, the "lads came gaily back and went at their sports again with a will."

After dinner, Huck teaches Tom and Joe how to smoke tobacco from a pipe. At about midnight, the three awake to a solemn silence that has gripped the island. The air grows cold, and soon, a drenching rain begins to pour down upon them. In the darkness, they scramble to shelter underneath their tent, cold, scared, and wet. The storm passes violently, with blinding conflagrations of lightening, harsh winds, and ear-splitting thunder. With their fire burned out and their shelter damaged to the point of uselessness, Tom, Joe, and Huck attempt to distract themselves by playing "Cowboys and Indians." The chapter leaves the boys in a semi-happy state, smoking pipes and chatting away the night.


Like the river and night, a storm is a common archetype to represent a profound change in character, typically the protagonist of the story. The storm on Jackson's Island is of great magnitude, unlike the other storms of the novel. Twain describes ceaseless lightening and a "slanting veil of rain." We can predict that this is a major turning point for Tom's character, particularly because he is about to return home and face reality, so to speak. The river, too, becomes billowy and "white with foam," perhaps a foreshadowing of trouble's Tom must face ahead. Twain even suggests that the "brooding oppressiveness in the airŠ seemed to bode something."

The storm scene of Jackson Island is perhaps one of the most intense and dramatic scenes of the novel in terms of descriptive language. Here Twain uses very powerful imagery to depict each stage of the storm. First a "solemn hush," then all light became "swallowed up in the blackness of darkness." What makes Twain's writing so powerful in this chapter is not flowery language, but a detailed description of action: furious blasts, drenching rain, a rising hurricane, and booming thunderblasts. The description is concentrated and to-the-point, but very effective: "keen and sharp," "ear-splitting explosive bursts," and "clean-cut and shadow-less distinctness." The chaotic use of verbs and description seems to reflect the chaotic nature of the storm itself. The scene exemplifies Twain's great ability to capture action with his words.

Chapter 17 Summary:

On Saturday afternoon, everyone in the town of St. Petersburg is in a somber mood.. Even Becky Thatcher wishes that she had Tom's brass knob to remember him by. Regretting her harsh words from the days before Tom's disappearance, she breaks down into tears. Meanwhile, playmates of both Tom and Joe gather around the schoolyard, recalling memories of Tom. Disputes broke out over who saw the departed boys last, who had spoken with them last, who had played with them last. Tom and Joe were like heroes.

The next morning, the church bell begins to toll and the villagers begin to gather for the funeral. Aunt Polly, Mary, Sid, and the Harper family are dressed in black and reverently sit in the front pew. After hymns and prayers, nothing but praise is sung of the boys. The clergyman "drew such pictures of the graces, the winning ways, and the rare promise" of the boys while even the minister "illustrated their sweet, generous naturesŠ" As the mourners, congregation, and even the preacher begin to cry with such movement, the church door creaks open, unnoticed. Standing in the door are Tom, Huck, and Joe who had been hiding in the unused gallery listening to their own funeral sermon!

The families throw themselves over the "restored" boys, and even Huck is lavished with kisses from Aunt Polly. The event is almost miraculous, and Tom confesses "in his heart that this was the proudest moment of his life."


At last, Tom has achieved exactly what he has always wished for: every adult in town mourns his death and every child at school vies to be connected to him in some way, one even claiming that "Tom Sawyer he licked me once." How ironic that the minister and clergymen that used to punish Tom in Sunday school now only relate "many a touching incident" and the boys' "sweet and generous natures." Even the church bell at the start of the funeral service begins to "toll, instead of ringing in the usual way."

When the three boys enter the Church, to the surprise and stares of all those in the congregation, even Huckleberry (at the insistence of Tom) is showered with hugs and kisses. Huck, once the town pariah, is now standing in church and being lavished upon with Aunt Polly's "loving attentions," making him uncomfortable. To the congregation, it is a miracle that the boys are alive, and looking back in the text, there is even more irony in Twain's use of the biblical text: "I am the Resurrection and the Life."

Chapter 18 Summary:

Tom's great secret is finally revealed to the reader: the scheme to return home and attend his own funeral. During breakfast, Aunt Polly reveals that she wishes Tom had given her some kind of message to ease her mind. "Sid would have thought. And Sid would have come and done it, too," says Aunt Polly. Tom, thinking quickly, replies that he wishes he did, but that he had dreamed about Aunt Polly. Out of curiosity, Aunt Polly inquires Tom about his dream. Tom recalls the incidents of Wednesday night, but implies that he dreamt the entire account. He recalls the entire family, including Mrs. Harper, sitting and crying by the door. "I took and wrote on a piece of sycamore bark, ŒWe ain't dead we are only off being pirates,' and put it on the table by the candleŠ I thought I went and leaned over and kissed you on the lips." Polly, convinced that Tom had prophesied the account and that an angel must have been present, rewards Tom with an apple and kisses before sending him off to school.

At school, Tom and Joe walk around with a "dignified air," telling tales of their adventures and putting envy in the eyes of all the other boys. In his glory, Tom comes to the decision that he can now be independent of Becky Thatcher. Although pretending not to see her, Tom observes that Becky is "showing off": screaming with laughter, chasing schoolmates, and casting a "conscious eye" in his direction. With vanity taking over, Tom begins to put his attentions into conversation with Amy Lawrence. Becky, trembling with tears, retaliates by going off in a corner with Alfred Temple and a picture book. Now feeling jealous and unable to stand Amy's meaningless chatter, Tom storms off angrily at his missed opportunity to reunite with Becky. Meanwhile, Becky becomes bored with Alfred once she realizes that Tom has already left the schoolyard. "Go away and leave me alone, can't you! I hate you!" she yells at Alfred as she walks away.

Alfred, humiliated and angry after realizing the truth, vows revenge upon Tom. Seeing Tom's open spelling-book, Alfred pours ink on the lesson for the afternoon, unaware that Becky is peering through the schoolhouse. She heads toward home, hoping to find Tom and win his thanks; but with a second thought, she remembers Tom's cold treatment of her, and resolves to let him receive a whipping for the ink-covered lesson.


Immediately after returning home, we see that Tom is back in his regular routine despite his attempt to change. He easily manipulates Aunt Polly by telling her about the dream, and although he tries to forget about Becky, he flirts with Amy Lawrence only to attract Becky's attention. His actions seem somewhat petty and it doesn't appear that Tom's adventures on Jackson Island have helped him mature at all; instead, he simply seems more self-confident and temperamental.

One thing that should be appreciated about Twain's writing is his sense of humor. His satire, especially regarding authority and the church, are meant to be light-hearted. Here, some of his witty humor appears, but in a more subtle manner. For instance, Aunt Polly says, "It ain't much a cat does that much," when referring to Tom's claims that he dreamed about her. The reference to a cat is an allusion back to chapter twelve, when Tom feeds the cat painkiller and parallels the cat's pain to his own. Similarly, we see that Aunt Polly is as superstitious as Tom, believing that he has prophesied when he recounts his "dreams." Tom may believe in ghosts and witches, but Aunt Polly believes in cure-alls and prophesies!

Chapter 19 Summary:

Arriving home in a horrible mood, Tom is confronted by Aunt Polly, who has learned that Tom has lied to her about his "dream." After returning from the Harper household, she learns that Tom had returned home that Wednesday night. Ridden with guilt, Tom apologizes, but tells Polly that he had meant to give her the piece of bark. Confused, Aunt Polly asks Tom: "Did you kiss me, Tom?" Upon hearing him admit that he did so because he loved her, she forgives him and sends him off to school.

After Tom leaves the house, she reaches for his jacket pocket to find the piece of bark with Tom's handwriting scrawled across it. Reading his message, she cries: "I could forgive the boy, now, if he'd committed a million sins!"


When Aunt Polly confronts Tom about his lie, Tom is surprised how his "joke" from that morning could look so "mean and shabby" when seen from Polly's perspective. Although Tom is not as selfish as Polly first claims, she is correct in saying that the child never thinks. Tom's conscience kicks in only in retrospect; he often finds himself lost in guilt or remorse for having committed some grave sin or having not told the truth. Part of growing up is learning how to become accountable for one's actions, a lesson that Tom has not yet learned.

However, in this scene, Polly learns that Tom truly does care for her after finding the piece of bark in his jacket pocket. There seems to be an unspoken love between the two. Despite their opposite nature Tom is a troublemaker, while Polly is always "socially" correct both love each other and maintain a strong mother-son-like relationship.

Chapter 20 Summary:

After Aunt Polly kisses Tom good-bye, his moods are lifted. Seeing Becky Thatcher, he runs to her and apologizes for ignoring her and asks to "please make up." But Becky, still furious, simply tosses her head and passes on, sending Tom into a rage.

Meanwhile, as Becky passes by the schoolmaster's desk in the empty schoolhouse, she notices that Mr. Dobbins has left a key in the drawer lock of his desk. Every day, Mr. Dobbins would take a mysterious book out of his desk, which he read when class was not in session, otherwise keeping it under lock and key. "The darling of [Mr. Dobbins's] desires was to be a doctor, but poverty had decreed that he should be nothing higher than a village schoolmaster," writes Twain. The book, described as "Professor Somebody's Anatomy," was Mr. Dobbins's secret reading material. Finding herself alone, Becky opens the drawer and opens the book only to find an engraved frontispiece of a naked human figure. At that moment, Tom steps in through the door, startling Becky who accidentally tears the picture down the middle. Bursting into tears and aware of the gravity of her upcoming punishment, Becky yells angrily at a still confused Tom.

As the students file in, the day proceeds as usual. Presently, the spelling-book discovery is made, and Tom takes a whipping for the ruined lesson. Becky forces herself to keep from revealing the truth, afraid that Tom will simply tell on her for tearing Mr. Dobbins's book. But when Dobbins discovers his torn book and asks each student whether he or she tore the book, Tom springs to his feet as Becky is succumbing to pressure and shouts: "I done it!" Taking one of the harshest beatings ever given by the schoolmaster, Tom is inspired by his own good deed knowing that Becky will throw her thanks upon him.

Later that night, Tom goes to bed planning revenge on Alfred Temple; Becky, in all her guilt, tells Tom of Alfred's treachery. Her words linger in his memory as he falls asleep: "Tom, how could you be so noble!"


Throughout Tom Sawyer, Twain makes a mockery of the adult and authority figures in the novel. In this chapter, we see another example of this mockery when the secrets of Schoolmaster Dobbins are revealed: his lovelorn nature, his desire to be a physician, his secret study of the human anatomy. Dobbins is portrayed not as someone who is fit for instructing schoolchildren, but as a somewhat pathetic character. This attitude toward authority figures schoolmasters, ministers, and parents seems to embody the frontier ideal that opposes restraint of any kind, social or physical.

Tom, as the protagonist of the story, appears to have the most insight and intellect to the reader. Unlike the adults of St. Petersburg, Tom seems to have a good understanding of human nature, with his ability to assess characters and situations. In this chapter, we see the more noble side of Tom when he is willing to take the whippings from Mr. Dobbins simply to save Becky from embarrassment. He does so partly because he knows Becky will forever be in debt to him, but also because he truly cares for her.

Chapter 21 Summary:

As vacation approaches, Schoolmaster Dobbins grows more and more strict due to the quick advance of "Examination" day when the entire town gathered to watch performances done by the students of St. Petersburg. His lashings grow more and more severe, and the smaller boys vow to seek revenge upon the fierce schoolmaster. Conspiring together with the sign-painters boy (the master had boarded in the sign-painter's family), the group decides to act on the day of Examination Evening, knowing that before the event Dobbins would celebrate by drinking.

On the big evening, the town gathers in their best clothes and the exercises begin. Little boys and little girls recite poems and speeches; Tom Sawyer begins with "Give me liberty or give me death," but stops halfway through, unable to remember his lines. There are reading and spelling exercises, a Latin recitation, and then the young ladies present original compositions. Twain describes the compositions as "nursed" and like "petty melancholy." Each piece was a "wasteful and opulent gush" of moralistic and religious teaching. Twain writes: "There is no school in all our land where the young ladies do not feel obliged to close their compositions with a sermonŠ Homely truth is unpalatable."

When the time finally comes for the geography class to perform, Dobbins rises to the blackboard and begins to draw a map of the United States. The "tittering" in the classroom increases, but Dobbins remains confused as to what the snickering is about. Above his head is a cat suspended by her haunches with a rag tied around her mouth to prevent her from mewing. Clawing at the string, she is suspended lower and lower until in her clawing and moving about, she grasps the teacher's wig in her claws. The boys have finally achieved retribution, for the sign-painter's son has gilded the schoolmaster's bald head!


Twain's description of "Examination" day is a prime example of his great talent for satire writing. Ultimately, the author shows his contempt for pretentiousness in his mockery of the original compositions written by the young ladies of St. Petersburg. The compositions are flowery, dramatic, and more a matter of showing off vocabulary than showing off good writing. "Good breeding," once said Twain, "consists in concealing how much we think of ourselves and how little we think of the other person." Twain depicts this insincere, holier-than-thou attitude in the young ladies' work. Their pieces are full of clichés and useless words; when the townspeople applaud the girls, Twain makes a mockery of them as well. Twain shows his aversion toward the moral code imposed by small-town life and the pretentious attitude that accompanies it.

Even more humorous is the manner in which the boys are able to humiliate Mr. Dobbins. Whether it be a minister, schoolteacher or guardian, Twain seems to always show how the children are able to punish the authorities rather than vice versa. Examination Day exemplifies Twain's distaste for authority figures while also reminding the reader that with age comes a sense of maturity - something the school children do not yet possess.

Chapter 22 Summary:

Over vacation, Tom joins a "new" band of boys called the "Cadets of Temperance," known for their showy regalia and red sashes. He vows not to drink or swear, but learns that "to promise not to do a thing is the surest way to makes a body want to go and do that very thing." Unable to abstain from these vices, Tom goes back to his mischievous ways. Presently, Tom grows bored with all his free time and attempts to fill it with various activities. He starts a diary, forms a musical band, plays circus, and even attends a few "boys-and-girls'" parties. But nothing amuses Tom: Becky had left St. Petersburg to stay with her parents, and the secret of Dr. Robinson's murder haunted him more than ever.

Tom then comes down with the measles, during which time the entire town of St. Petersburg undergoes a kind of religious revival. Upon recovering from his sickness, Tom finds that all the little boys Joe Harper, Ben Rogers, and even good old Huck Finn had "got religion." That night comes a terrible storm, and Tom sincerely believes that the storm is meant as punishment for him. But the tempest dies, and Tom finds himself sick with a relapse of the measles. After another three weeks in bed, Tom finds his friends have given up their pious ways. "Poor lads! They like Tom had suffered a relapse."


Here, Twain depicts the sleepiness and triviality of small town life. The circus comes, then goes; the minstrel comes, then goes; excitement comes, then goes. Even the largest celebration of the year the Fourth of July seems like any other day. Tom has good intentions by joining the Temperance Cadets, but is so bored with St. Petersburg that he is unable to remain a "good boy" for much longer.

When the revival comes to town, it seems that everyone has found religion. But Twain's rejection of the Christian faith can be seen in this chapter when the revival, too, comes and goes as quick as it came. Religious revival is paralleled to Tom's bout of the measles, or the passing of the storm: each as pestilent and fleeting as the other. In his works, Twain regards the Bible with no deference, and instead expresses a deep-rooted cynicism toward organized religion, regarding it as ignorance and superstition.

Chapter 23 Summary:

Finally, the sleepy town of St. Petersburg begins to stir again as the trial for the murder of Dr. Robinson begins. Since witnessing the murder, neither Huck nor Tom has divulged the events of that night to anyone for fear of Injun Joe's wrath. But by and by, the two boys recall Muff Potter's falsely accused of the murder good nature: how he had mended their kites, tied their fishing lines, and "stood by [Huck] when [he] was out of luck." The two find themselves loitering outside the isolated jail, as they had done so many times, passing tobacco and cigarettes through the cell grating. Cowardice and guilt come over the boys when Muff Potter expresses his gratitude to the boys and warns them against the evils of alcohol. "You've been mighty good to me boysŠ Shake handsŠ little hands, and weak but they've helped Muff Potter a power, and they'd help him more if they could." Tom and Huck left in a miserable mood, and each avoided the other at the courthouse the next day.

By the end of the second day, the village gossip is that Injun Joe's evidence could not be doubted. Tom, out late that night, sneaks through the bedroom window too excited to go to sleep. The next morning, the village courthouse is completely filled. After the judge arrives, the prosecuting attorney calls witness after witness who could account Muff Potter's strange behavior the day after the murder. To the surprise of the courtroom, the defense attorney refuses to cross-examine the witnesses. Instead, the defense attorney calls Thomas Sawyer to the witness stand. Puzzlement crosses the entire audience as Tom is administered the oath. Nervous and scared, Tom recounts the events of the night spent in the graveyard. "ŠMuff Potter fell, Injun Joe jumped with the knife and Š" says Tom; and with the sentence unfinished, Injun Joe tears through the courthouse, out the window, and disappears.


The trial of Muff Potter finally stirs up the small town of St. Petersburg and is an important turning point in the novel. One theme that is exemplified by the trial scene is the theme of "justice." Twain uses the idea of "justice" throughout the novel: Injun Joe's revenge on Dr. Robinson, Tom's thoughts of revenge, Aunt Polly's need to punish Tom. The idea that "every action has a reaction" is embodied in the legal trial. And of course, in order for justice to happen, Tom must make the decision to come forward with his eyewitness account of the murder.

The first instinct of most readers is to commend Tom for his gallant behavior, citing that his decision to tell the truth is one of maturity and grace. However, we must realize that had Tom told the truth from the very beginning, the trial against Muff Potter would never have begun in the first place. Rather, it has taken Tom a long time to think over his action; and for a while, thoughts of the murder did not even occupy his mind when he was courting Becky or on Jackson Island. Even directly before the trial, we see Tom trying to appease his conscience by talking to Muff Potter through the jail grating; even after Muff Potter's soliloquy, Tom still plans to "keep mum." It is not until he is haunted in his dreams that he finally decides to break his vow of silence with Huck.

Chapter 24 Summary:

The good citizens of St. Petersburg embrace Muff Potter, and Tom is once again the town hero and the envy of all the children. But although his days are spent basking in praise, his dreams are infested with images of Injun Joe. Huck, too, is in the same predicament, afraid that he, too, will be named as a witness to the murder. For although Huck's name had not been mentioned in trial and the defense attorney had been sworn to secrecy, Tom had broken his oath to "keep mum" and Huck's "confidence in the human races was well-nigh obliterated."

But there is no information of Injun Joe, who fled the courtroom. Rewards are offered, and even a detective had been hired. But Injun is nowhere to be found. With the passing days, Tom loses some anxiety


Tom's nightmares represent his unsettled guilt and fear. stemming from his withholding of the truth. Dreams are often an outlet for one's unconscious; we can often gain more insight into the nature of a character through the analysis of his or her dreams. Here, Tom's conscience is manifested in his nightmares because it is the only time his fears are allowed to enter his mind; his fear of Injun Joe and his vow with Huck are impedances to his feelings of guilt. Just as before on Jackson island, when Tom was unable to fall asleep, his conscience haunts him. As part of growing up and assuming responsibility, Tom must learn to listen to his conscience rather than ignore it.

Chapter 25 Summary:

"There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life," writes Twain, "when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure." With his "raging desire," Tom seeks out Huck Finn and the two go off to dig hidden treasure under dead-limb trees at the old haunted house on Still-House branch, the other side of the hill from the Widow Douglas's. After walking almost three miles, they rest a while before using a crippled pick and shovel to dig for about half-an-hour. After failing to uncover a "rotten chest dull of di'monds," the boys change to a new site. Still unsuccessful, they realize that they can only dig where the "shadow of a limb falls at midnight."

Returning at midnight to resume their hunt for treasure, the boys still possess no luck and uncover nothing but stones. After considering the idea, Tom proposes that they move their digging to the haunted house. After expressing some misgivings about the idea, Huck finally agrees to the plan and the boys begin to walk down the hill toward the dilapidated building. But after arriving halfway toward the house, they turn around and return home through the woods on the rearward side of Cardiff Hill.


Throughout the novel, Tom and Huck pretend to be pirates and search for treasure: gold, silver, jewels, and every worldly good imaginable. In some ways, this hunt for treasure parallels the plot of the novel; the more the boys dig and search for treasure, the deeper they get themselves into trouble. Their quest for treasure is perhaps symbolic of man's quest for adventure in life. This meaning fits well into the theme of the frontier, which Twain reinforces with his romanticized sense of adventure.

The haunted house becomes a kind of romantic symbol of the mysterious, the spiritual, and the unknown. Overgrown with weeds and with crumbling architecture, Twain's description of the haunted house is reminiscent of his description of the graveyard during the murder scene: both are isolated, full of "dead spirits," and covered in darkness. The boys even foreshadow the following events with the foreboding that the house truly is haunted, imagining a blue light in the window.

Chapter 26 Summary:

Noon the next day, Huck and Tom return to the dead tree to gather the tool they had left behind the night before. Tom is impatient to continue the treasure hunt at the haunted house, but Huck points out that the day is Friday and that Friday is an unlucky day. Instead of resuming their digging, the boys set out to play Robin Hood.

On Saturday afternoon, they return to the dead tree and dig for a short time in their previously made hole, before moving on to the haunted house. After entering the house, they are greeted with an eerie silence and are afraid to venture any further. But after "familiarity modified their fears," Huck and Tom venture upstairs. Not long afterwards, the boys stretch themselves upon the floor after hearing strange voices coming toward the door. With their eyes pressed to knotholes in the floor planks, they watch in anxiety as two men enter the haunted house. One they immediately recognize as the "old deaf and dumb Spaniard" who has loitered around town; but, surprising the boys, the Spaniard begins to speak and they immediately recognize the voice as belonging to Injun Joe!

Using the haunted house as a "hideout," the unknown man and Injun Joe remain until sundown, at which point they decide to leave. But before they depart, the crooks begin to bury a bag filled with over six hundred dollars in silver. Still hiding, Tom and Huck grow ecstatic. But to the amazement of all those in the haunted house, Injun Joe finds a box of buried treasure: an iron-bound box filled with gold coins that is suspected to belong to gang who once were thought to have used the house as an old hideout. After carrying the money and the newfound box with them to stash in their secret hiding place ("Number Two under the cross"), Injun Joe and the man plan a "dangerous job" of revenge as they exit the house. Tom and Huck leave shortly thereafter, contemplating their ill luck and hoping that the "revenge" Injun Joe was planning was not directed toward them.


When the boys return to the haunted house, they are greeted with "something so weird and grisly about the dead silence," and again, a comparison between the haunted house and the graveyard of chapter eight should be made. Both scenes possess the eerie "silence" that acts as a kind of warning to the two boys, the way a panther is perfectly still before he pounces on his prey. It is the stillness, the lack of "life" that strikes the boys as foreboding. How ironic it is that in all places of extreme isolation, Tom and Huck find themselves in the company of Injun Joe!

When the boys first see Injun Joe, he is wrapped in a serape a traditional Spanish article of clothing and disguised as a deaf and dumb Spaniard. We begin to notice that with his villains, Twain seems to represent an element of the exotic and the foreign. Whether dressed as Injun Joe or a Spaniard, he is never mistaken for a typical inhabitant of St. Petersburg, but rather is presented as out-of-the-ordinary. On a more profound level, we can take Twain's almost too-obvious depiction of Injun Joe and contrast it with the idea that the true villain of the novel is man's inherent malevolence.

Chapter 27 Summary:

The adventures of that day torment Tom in his dreams but it is the thought of so much money that occupies Tom's mind, and not the actions of Injun Joe. Seeking Huck the next day, the boys vow to find Injun Joe's secret hiding place: "Number Two."

Conjecturing that the words "Number Two" referred to a room number, Huck and Tom conclude that Injun Joe is occupying Room Two in a St. Petersburg tavern. With plans to stake out the tavern room and follow Injun Joe, Tom and Huck prepare for their adventure.


We also see another shift in the plot with the introduction of the buried treasure. Tom's greediness comes out when his eyes feast on the bag of six hundred dollars, so much so that he forgets he would be stealing from a murderous villain. On another level, it is almost unbelievable that there actually is buried gold in the haunted house, showing that even the most outrageous ideas may prove to be true. The recovery of the treasure, then, becomes an integral part of the plot.

Chapter 28 Summary:

That night, Tom and Huck lurk outside the tavern watching the alley next to it as well as the tavern door. Unfortunately, they have no luck that night and have no luck on Tuesday or Wednesday night either. However, Thursday night brings darkness with the coming of storm clouds, and Tom is able to slip out of the house with his aunt's tin lantern and a large towel to mask the light. With Huck waiting outside in the alley, Tom sneaks into the tavern to explore the "haunted room."

After waiting for Tom for a while and becoming fearful of some large catastrophe, Huck is startled when Tom runs out crying: "Run for your life!" The two boys run in a panic, and as they reach the shed of a deserted slaughterhouse the storm broke out in rain. Tom recollects how he had tried the door handle absently, thinking it would be locked. But to his surprise, the unlocked door gave way to reveal a drunken Injun Joe lying across the bed with a bottle of whiskey in one hand. Tom spied no cross or treasure, only a tin cup and "barrels" and "bottles" of whiskey everywhere. Both too scared to return to the tavern, Huck agrees to keep watch over the tavern in the night, and sleep during the day in Ben Roger's hayloft. With the storm clearing, Tom returns home.


It is important to note that Injun Joe's character is depicted by Twain as extreme. Not only is he a minority, but he is also savage and obsessed with revenge. Similarly, his habits show that he is not law-abiding: he drinks, and represents the epitome of the Christian heathen. One reason why Twain creates such a villainous character is to prevent the reader from expressing any sympathy for him. It is clear that Injun Joe is a "low character" because of his decrepit moral and spiritual worth, rather than because of his social position such as Huck. Thus, when it is established that Injun Joe is a town pariah, there is a clear difference between the murderer and characters that are simply pariahs because they refuse to conform to small-town expectations. Injun Joe falls into play with the theme of dualism: the contrast between "good" and "evil."

Chapter 29 Summary:

On Friday morning, Tom is greeted with the news that Judge Thatcher's family has come back to town the night before. Becky's mother has invitations out for a picnic the next day and Tom eagerly awaits the event. Becky now occupies most of Tom's thoughts, pushing the idea of treasure and Injun Joe to the back of his mind. No signal from Huck comes that night.

Morning comes and the children leave for the picnic. Becky's mother, worried that the children would not return until late that night, advise that Becky stay with Susy Harper, who lives near the ferry landing. Three miles below town, the ferryboat stops at the mouth of a "woody hollow" and the day's tiring activities are met with a feast. After their appetites have been satisfied, the party moves on toward McDougal's cave. Chilly, gloomy, yet romantic and mysterious, the solid limestone structure is a "vast labyrinth of crooked aisles that ran into each other and out again and led nowhere." According to Twain, "no man Œknew' the cave," but Tom Sawyer knew it as much as anyone. After returning from adventurous clambering inside the cave, the picnickers returned on the ferryboat back to the shores of St. Petersburg. In the meantime, Tom convinces Becky to disobey her mother and visit the Widow Douglas for ice cream, rather than return to Susy Harper's house for the night.

Meanwhile, at eleven o'clock, Huck is beginning to become restless, with no sign of life near the tavern. Suddenly, he hears a noise but decides it is too late to run and call for Tom. Instead, Huck follows two men who are carrying a box under their arm presumably the box of treasure. Moving up the river street, turning left, going up Cardiff Hill and past the old Welshman's house, Huck follows the dark figures until they stop in the wood right outside Widow Douglas's house. The lights are on inside the house, indicating that the widow has company. Huck realizes at that moment that Injun Joe's dangerous "revenge" job is to seek harm on the Widow Douglas. Injun Joe proceeds to describe to the Spaniard how the widow's late husband had ordered him to be horsewhipped "like a nigger" in front of the jail a long time ago; as revenge, Joe intends on "slit[ting] her nostrils" and "notch[ing] her ears like a sow!"

Huck, remembering times when the widow had bestowed her kindness upon him, makes his way out of the wood to the old Welshman's door. At first hesitant to open his door to Huck, the Welshman realizes that Huck "has got something to tell" and lets Huck enter. Huck tells the Welshman and his two sons all that he knows, with the promise that they will not divulge his identity. Three minutes later, the old man and his sons are at the widow's house; first silence, then an explosion of firearms and a cry ensues in the dark. Huck flees the scene.


The introduction of MacDougal's Cave is important to the novel, particularly because it plays a prominent role in the coming events. Twain describes the cave a as "labyrinth underneath labyrinth, and no end to any of them." The cave, like the haunted house and the graveyard, is another very dramatic location that Twain chooses for the novel. Caves often symbolize mystery and fantasy because in traditional fairy tales and stories, they house gnomes, dragons, and treasure. Similarly, caves often contain secret passageways that run to the underworld, a place of darkness. Here, Twain sets up the cave as a perfect setting for Tom's final adventure of the novel.

In examining Injun Joe's character, it is observed that he is almost a personification of savagery. What makes Injun Joe a unique character in the story is that he never expresses any signs of remorse or regret; his obsession with revenge has driven him to ignore his conscience altogether. He may only be seeking justice on past crimes, but does so selfishly and only with personal gratification rather than moral or ethical reasoning in mind.

In chapter twenty-nine, there is also a shift between characters when the plot begins to focus mainly on the adventures of Huck, who becomes the hero of this chapter and the next. Though he is considered one of the town's social pariahs, Huck not only comes to the widow's aid but also recalls that she had always been kind to him. We see that the juvenile is not quite the delinquent that his reputation makes him out to be, though even the Welshman is hesitant about opening his door to such a straggler.

Chapter 30 Summary:

The chapter begins with Huck knocking on the door of the Welshman, who eagerly welcomes Huck in for breakfast. The old Welshman retells the events of the night before to an anxious Huck. The old man and his sons had crept up to within fifteen feet of the villains before the old man let out a sneeze, breaking their silence. Soon thereafter, they fired away and the villains fired back but their shots were inconsequential. The villains were able to escape (also leaving behind their burglar's tools), but a posse and the sheriff had been assembled to patrol the riverbanks and the woods. Because the wood was so dark the night before, no one was able to steal a good look at the villains, and the old Welshman asks Huck if he could see what the two men looked like.

After the old man promises to secrecy once more, Huck tells how he had followed the two men from the tavern that night. He contrives most of his story, attempting to hide details such as the box of treasure and the identity of Injun Joe; instead, Huck simply describes Injun Joe as the deaf and dumb Spaniard. But Huck leaves several holes and discrepancies in his story, particularly when he inadvertently blurts out that the "deaf and dumb" Spaniard can speak. Realizing that the old man, who is urging Huck to tell the truth, is honest and sincere, Huck blurts out: "Tain't a Spaniard it's Injun Joe!"

After breakfast, several citizens including the Sheriff and the Widow Douglas come to visit the old Welshman. The widow is outspoken with gratitude toward the old man, who tells her that there is another, who is to remain nameless, which she is to be more grateful toward. All the visitors are curious as to the identity of the nameless hero.

Back in town, everybody arrives early to church to discuss the incidents of last night. Presently, Becky's mother and Aunt Polly approach Mrs. Harper, assuming that Tom and Becky have stayed overnight with Susy and Joe Harper. But it is soon discovered that both Tom and Becky have not been seen since the picnic. Fear arises that the two children, whom no one had seen on the ferry ride home last night, are still missing within McDougal's cave.

For the next three days and nights, Becky and Tom are still missing. The town has formed search parties and the depths of the cave are being ransacked in hopes of finding the children. On the wall of the cave in an area far from the normal cave trails the names "Becky & Tom" are traced in candle smoke and a small piece of ribbon is found nearby.

Meanwhile, Huck has fallen ill with fever. With the old Welshman aiding the search party at the cave, the Widow Douglas is taking care of a bed-ridden and delirious Huckleberry. Huck inquires about Temperance Tavern, where Injun Joe last resided. The Widow informs him that the tavern has been shut down after liquor was found. Huck, unaware that Tom is missing, assumes that the treasure has been lost and falls back asleep.


When Huck knocks on the Welshman's door, he is greeted with the unfamiliar words: "[Huck] is a name that can open this door night or day, lad! and welcome!" How surprising that Huck, who was held in contempt by every "sociable" of St. Petersburg, is now welcome in any respectable household! But Huck's reputation as a delinquent is only superficial; we see from his good deed that he has perhaps more courage and ethics than many other men. In the novel, Twain is careful not to make any judgments on his characters based on their wealth or social position; rather, he evaluates each rationally based on their intellectual, spiritual, and moral worth. With snobbery aside, Huck commands respect from the reader because of his genuine sincerity and consideration for others.

Meanwhile, the reader is informed that Tom and Becky are missing, lost in McDougal's Cave. Again, Tom "dies" for a second time and the idea of the cave as labyrinth for finding oneself comes into play when the Widow says to herself: "Pity but somebody could find Tom Sawyer!" In analyzing her statement, the reader should be clued that Tom's adventures within the cave is not only a physical trial, but also an emotional one. It is MacDougal's Cave where Tom must "find himself."

Chapter 31 Summary:

Chapter 31 begins four days back, with Becky and Tom exploring McDougal's Cave at the time of the picnic. Tom and Becky play hide-and-seek games with the other children before growing weary and wandering off through the cave, reading the names and messages inscribed on the limestone walls with candle smoke. After smoking their own names into the wall, Tom comes across a narrow passageway leading downwards, and they wind down the newfound path into the depths of the cave, making smoke marks once in a while for future guidance. Shortly, they come to an enclosure where thousands of bats hang from the ceiling; quickly running to escape the creatures, Tom and Becky run wildly into random "corridors" and passageways, keeping no track of which they've turned. Finally, the two children outrun the bats and stop to rest.

Presently, they begin to realize how they've lost track of time and that they can no longer hear the voices of the other picnickers. Deciding to avoid the bats, Tom suggests that they try to find a different way out of the cave. But with each passageway and turn they make, nothing looks familiar and both are aware that they are lost deep within McDougal's Cave. The children continue on, with Tom occasionally blowing out Becky's candle to conserve the wick. Fatigue and hunger overtake the children, and soon, they are forced to remain stationary by a source of water aft

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