1. The Adventures of Tom SawyerBy
Mark Twain

2. Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)
1867
1907

3. Twainism
“Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.”

4. Historical Happenings
Westward Expansion
Change
Pushing back boundaries
Great population growth
Economic depression
Revolt against slavery
Communications expanded
Newly-improved postal service
Telegraph
Transportation revolution
Establishment of railroads, canals, steamboats, steamships
Explosion of Irish and German immigrant populations
Events created tension, but they also opened up new and exciting opportunities

5. Twain- The Philosopher
Humorist, realist, cynic, satirist, commentator
Characters were often motivated by
spite, self-importance, greed
Other characters (Huck and Jim) demonstrate how Twain was attuned to the caring
Twain’s attitude toward society was a WARY one
detested the hypocrisy of the world
detested the insistence on the importance of conventional manners while inner corruption was ignored
For Twain, the dictates of conscience took precedence over dictates of society (reflected in the way Tom ignores church/community expectations)
Twain’s views of society’s imperfections led him to glorify the individual who escapes contamination of society
He saw the peak of NOBILITY in youth- Huck Finn is ideal representative

6. What is Behind His Books?
1870s American literary style was shifting from romanticism to realism
REALISM attempted to create believable characters with complete personalities
wrote about people from many walks of life and captured slang/dialect people used
examined current social problems- squarely faced them
romanticism was an escape from miseries of industrialism and urbanization
Twain was called the first American realist
Tom Sawyer displays this transition from romanticism to realism
Twain adds an element of romantic nostalgia
He also used exaggerated humor of the American frontier
Another tool used is satire- sometimes gentle and sometimes harsh

7. The Novel – On Many Levels
Level 1- humorous and exciting children’s story- the hero and main characters are children- adventures are those that children can relate to
Level 2- nostalgic look at childhood in the preindustrial, pre Civil War days of a sleepy town on the Mississippi River
Level 3- appeals to the social historian- novel is a realistic record of the folklore, superstitions, myths, beliefs, customs, and manners of 19th century village America
Level 4- gentle satire on the pride, pretense, and petty vanities of the adult world AND on the customs and institutions of American society
Finally…offers insight into the process of growing up

8. Voices in the Novel Lyric (poetry)
Sardonic (humorous in a grim/sarcastic way)
Mix of elevated diction and vernacular expression (everyday speech)
3rd person limited omniscient
Divulges all; reader allowed not only to see all the activity within the novel but we are allowed within the thoughts of the characters
Twain’s viewpoint is present, but the characters do their own talking

9. Literary Devices
Bildungsroman- follows from childhood to adolescence to adult
Idyllic- a remembrance of simple, peaceful, and innocent country life
Picaresque- flows from one adventure to another
Satire- human vices are made fun of through irony, wit, sarcasm
Juxtaposition- Tom’s relationship with the adults

10. Introducing the Novel
Mark Twain, as did most Americans, felt a longing for a simpler time
Fictional town of St. Petersburg is drawn from memory of a boyhood in Hannibal, Missouri (it always seemed to be summer)
St. Peter tends the gates of heaven
Mark Twain did not remember only the pleasant parts of Hannibal
St. Petersburg is divided into strict social classes
One purpose was to make fun of “model” boy books
Romanticizes childhood
Twain admires imagination
Novel features “oddball” characters, imaginative adventures, vivid colloquial/frontier speech

11. Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
Themes: Moral and Social Maturation, Society’s Hypocrisy, Freedom through Social Exclusion (Huck as an outcast), Superstition
Motifs: Crime, Trading, Death, Showing Off
Symbols: the Cave, the Storm, the Treasure, The Village

12. Fence in Hannibal where Mark Twain grew up & modeled the fence in the scene in Ch 2…..

13. Steamer Missouri – Ben Rogers was imitating.

14. Laura Hawkins -Mark Twains “favorite girl” and was identified as the model for the character of Becky Thatcher

15. Tom Plays, Fights, and Hides (Ch.1)
Hook
Allusions
Capitalized “Model Boy”
Apostrophe
Similes
Idioms
Relationships between Tom and Sid ; Tom and Aunt Polly
Tom’s character analysis throughout ch.1 (beginning, middle, end)

16. The Glorious Whitewasher (Ch. 2)
Description of Hannibal, Missouri
Metaphors
The book is a study of the boy’s mind (boy’s view point/mind)
Children’s imagination
Examples?
Apostrophe
Work vs. Play
Point of View
Why is this important in the book?
Relationships
Motifs:
trading

17. Busy at War and Love (Ch.3)
Revenge
Motifs:
Showing off
Death
Simile
Poke at Society? Hypocrisy?
Foreshadowing
Tom’s character analysis
** Think: This chapter in comparison to the two others**
What does this tell us about Tom?
Relationships

18. Showing Off in Sunday School (Ch.4)
Teacher Discuss: Economy
Satire
Economy
Hard work/knowledge VS goods/services
Allusion
Relationship b/w Tom and Mary
Apostrophe
Metaphor / Similes / idiom / Parallelism
Tom’s desire for attention, love, acceptance
Motifs:
Trading
Showing off (Thought: Who else is participating in this?)

19. The Pinchbug and His Prey (Ch. 5)
Teacher Discuss: Church is central to town
Teacher Discuss: Dichotomy (division into 2)
Between serious and playful ; moral and mischievous
Parallel’s Tom’s struggle between adventure and “being good”
Satire
“Model Boy”
Simile / Metaphor / apostrophe
Response to Church – Tom’s and the other patrons
When does Tom actually pay attention to the message?

20. Tom Meets Becky (Ch.6) Personification
Characterization: Huckleberry Finn
Symbolizes?
Motifs:
Trading
Superstition
Meeting Becky

21. Tick-Running and A Heartbreak (Ch.7)
Personification
Simile
Tom’s view of school/education
“Frontier ideal”
Engaged

22. A Pirate Bold To Be (Ch.8) Superstition Death Motif
Revenge, not suicidal thoughts
Motif
Robin Hood

23. Tragedy in the Graveyard (Ch.9)
Turning point in the novel
Setting the tone/mood
Sounds of the night
Silence (when is the silence broken?)
What feelings are evoked by the mood?
Superstition
Prayer
Who is in the graveyard?
What happens in the graveyard?
How does the murder change everything?
What do we learn about human nature?

24. Dire Prophecy of the Howling Dog (CH. 10)
Blood oath
Motif:
Superstition
Foreshadowing
Relationships
Tom and Huck’s silence
Idiom

25. Conscience Racks Tom (CH.11)
Men create their own truths
Darker side of humans
Motif:
Superstition
The human conscience
Outlet to ease Tom’s guilty conscience
Injun Joe vs. Muff Potter
3 crimes/villians
Juxtaposition

26. The Cat and the Painkiller (Ch. 12)

27. The Pirate Crew Set Sail (Ch.13)
Tom’s view on running away
Partner’s in life of Crime
Joe Harper & Huck Finn
Personification
Conscience
Stealing
Motif
River