ByMark Twain

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER

Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemens)1867 1907

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Steamer Missouri – Ben Rogers was imitating.

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

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)

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

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

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?)

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?

Tom Meets Becky (Ch.6)• Personification• Characterization: Huckleberry Finn• Symbolizes?

• Motifs:• Trading• Superstition

• Meeting Becky

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

• Engaged

A Pirate Bold To Be (Ch.8)• Superstition• Death• Revenge, not suicidal thoughts

• Motif• Robin Hood

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?

Dire Prophecy of the Howling Dog (CH. 10)• Blood oath• Motif:• Superstition

• Foreshadowing• Relationships• Tom and Huck’s silence • Idiom

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

The Cat and the Painkiller (Ch. 12)

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