Tom Sawyer

Tess Eubank

2/3/2015

English 6, Period 7

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Has anyone ever known a boy who lied and tricked his friends into doing his chores?

Tom Sawyer was one of those boys at the beginning of the novel, The Adventures of Tom

Sawyer. Tom was lazy and clever about whitewashing the fence, which he did not want to do. He

told the other boys that it was fun. He made the boys give him their prizes to whitewash. Tom

sees Becky Thatcher outside. He starts doing tricks trying to get Beckys attention. The main

character, Tom, constantly searches for new adventures, new tricks to play, or new ways to break

the rules without getting into trouble.1 There are many things about Tom Sawyer that people do

not know about. Tom Sawyer changes throughout the book, which makes him a dynamic

character.

First of all, a major scene that makes a change in Tom was the murder of Dr. Robinson.

During the middle of the night, Huck Finn and Tom go to the graveyard. Muff Potter, Injun Joe,

and Dr. Robinson are going to dig up a body so that the doctor can practice on the body that they

dig up. While Muff Potter is knocked out, Injun Joe grabs Muff Potters knife, stabs the doctor,

and blames the murder on Muff Potter. After the murder, Huck says, Tom, we got to keep mum.

You know that. That Injun devil would not make any more of drownding us than a couple of cats,

if we was to squeak bout this and they didnt hang him.2 This shows how Tom changes

throughout the novel. Tom does get scared like Huck, but later, he overcomes his fear to help

Muff Potter.

Another one of the major scenes that Tom changes in is at Muff Potters trial. Muff Potter

is accused of murdering Dr. Robinson. Tom comes in to the trial and says what really happened

that night in the graveyard and that Injun Joe was the real murderer. As the lawyer questioned

1 (Classic lierature 2014)

2 (Twain 2001) p79.

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Tom, Tom said -----and as the doctor fetched the board around and Muff Potter fell, Injun Joe

jumped with the knife and---.3 After that, Injun Joe runs and jumps through the window and

from then on, Injun Joe was not seen until later in the book. This shows that instead of being

telling lies, Tom comes forward to tell the truth and saves Muff Potter.

Finally, the most important scene in the book that really shows how Tom changes is in

the big and dark cave with Becky. Tom and Becky get lost in a big cave. Becky is giving up and

wants to die, but Tom was still trying to find a way out. He convinces Becky not to give up by

saying, Cheer up, Becky, and lets go on trying.4 He uses a kite string to mark his path so he

would not get lost while trying to find a way out. Once Tom found a spec of light, he went back

to tell Becky that he had found a way out of the cave. Tom and Becky were as happy as they

could be. This shows that Tom is not just caring about himself, now he is caring a lot more about

other people like Becky.

During the book, Tom Sawyer goes through many changes, which makes him a dynamic

character. Before the murder, Tom was very self-centered and would not have cared if Muff

Potter went to jail. Now, he wants to help Muff Potter instead of just thinking of himself. Before

Muff Potters trial, Tom was used to lying, but now, he wants to tell the truth because he feels

bad for Muff Potter. Before being lost in the cave with Becky, Tom would only think of his own

safety. Now he loves Becky and wants to get out of the cave together. It turns out that Injun Joe

was trapped in the sealed caves and dies.5

3 Ibid. p171.

4 Ibid. p224.

5 (Jana n.d.)

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Classic lierature." About Literature. 2014. http://classiclit.about.com/od/tomsawyercrit/fr/aa

tomsawyer.htm (accessed December 2, 2014).

Jana, Dr. Arghya. "Critiacl analysis of the adventures of Tom Sawyer." Arghya Jana lIterature Guide. n.d.

http://arghyajanaliteratureguide.blogspot.com/2011/09/critical-analysis-of-adventures-of-

tom.html (accessed December 2, 2014).

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. New York: Modern Library, 2001.