the adventures of tom sawyer mark twain introduction background discussion starters
TRANSCRIPT
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain
Introduction
Background
Discussion Starters
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Introduction
Tom Sawyer just wants to have fun.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Introduction
He isn’t interested in what he’s supposed to do: go to school, study the Bible, or do chores.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Introduction
He is interested in
• tricking his friends into doing his chores
• sneaking into the cemetery to perform secret spells
• playing that he is a pirate
• exploring caves
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Introduction
Tom is often joined on his adventures by Huckleberry Finn, the son of the town’s drunkard, and by Joe Harper, Tom’s best friend.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Introduction
Tom also spends a lot of time trying to win the affections of Becky Thatcher, the new girl in town.
Sometimes he accidentally involves her in his adventures.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Introduction
And sometimes Tom’s fun turns dangerous, such as when he and Huck witness a murder.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Introduction
Can Tom find a way to do the right thing while still having his fun and games?
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Background
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was written by Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens.
Clemens grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which he later used as the inspiration for St. Petersburg, where Tom and his friends live.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Background
The real town of Hannibal and the fictional town of St. Petersburg are located on the banks of the Mississippi River.
Both are near islands and caves, which provide adventurous children with lots of places to play.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Background
The action in the book takes place in the 1840s.
In some ways the United States was growing and prospering during this time, but in other ways it was still old-fashioned and impoverished.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Background
On top of that, slavery still existed in America.
In the book Jim, who occasionally crosses paths with Tom and his friends, is a slave.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Background
The characters in the book speak very differently from the way most Americans do today.
Although Twain’s characters speak English, they speak in a distinctive dialect. They shorten some words to one syllable and sometimes combine several words into one.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Background
Tom and his friends also hold many beliefs that seem superstitious to modern readers.
For example, Tom and Huck discuss the best ways to cure warts—none of which involve medicine or doctors!
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Background
In the 1840s, medicine was primitive in comparison with techniques used today.
Doctors and medical students had a hard time learning about human anatomy because there were legal restrictions on the use of bodies to dissect for study.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Background
So some people became body snatchers, stealing freshly buried bodies and selling them to doctors and medical establishments.
When Tom and Huck sneak into the cemetery, they come across some body snatchers.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Discussion Starters
Discuss (1)From the title you know that the book is about a boy’s adventures.
• What kinds of adventures did you have as a child?
• How do you think they will compare with Tom’s?
• Do you think American children have more or fewer chances for adventures now than they did in the 1840s? Why?
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Discussion Starters
Discuss (2)• Tom is often able to persuade his friends to do
things for him. Are you more like Tom, or like the friends he tricks? How so?
• Tom and his friends are very superstitious. What are you or your friends superstitious about?