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Mark Twain

I. Biography

Christened as Samuel Langhorne Clemens, Mark Twain was born on November

30, 1835 in the small river town of Florida, Missouri, just 200 miles from Indian

Territory. The sixth child of John Marshall Clemens and Jane Lampton, Twain

lived in Florida, Missouri until the age of four, at which time his family relocated to

Hannibal in hopes of improving their living situation.

By lineage, Twain was a Southerner, as both his parents' families hailed from

Virginia. The slaveholding community of Hannibal, a river town with a populationof 2000, provided a mix of rugged frontier life and the Southern tradition, a

lifestyle that influenced Twain's later writings, including the Adventures of Tom

Sawyer. Few black slaves actually resided in Hannibal, and the small farms on

the delta were no comparison to the typical Southern plantation. In Hannibal,

blacks were mostly held as household servants rather than field workers, but

were still under the obligations of slavery.

Missouri was one of the fifteen slave states when the American Civil War broke

out, so Twain grew up amongst the racism, lynch mobs, hangings, and general

inhumane oppression of African Americans.

In his youth, Twain was a mischievous boy, the prototype of his character, Tom

Sawyer. Though he was plagued by poor health in his early years, by age nine

he had already learned to smoke, led a small band of pranksters, and had

developed an aversion to school. Twain's formal schooling ended after age 12,

because his father passed away in March of that year. He became an apprentice

in a printer's shop and then worked under his brother, Orion, at the Hannibal

Journal, where he quickly became saturated in the newspaper trade. Rising to

the role of sub-editor, Twain indulged in the frontier humor that flourished in

journalism at the time: tall tales, satirical pranks, and jokes.

However, over the next few years, Twain found himself unable to save any

wages and grew restless. He decided to leave Hannibal in June of 1853 and

accepted a position in St. Louis. Soon afterwards, rather than settling in St. Louis,

Twain proceeded to travel back and forth between New York, Philadelphia,

Washington, and Iowa, working as a journalist. After his wanderings, Twain


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ultimately switched professions, realizing an old boyhood dream of becoming a

river pilot.

Under the apprenticeship of Horace Bixby, pilot of the Paul Jones, Mark Twain

became a licensed river pilot at the age of 24. Earning a high salary navigating

the river waters, Twain was entertained by his work, and enjoyed his travelinglifestyle. In 1861, with the beginning of the Civil War, Twain's piloting days came

to an end.

After returning home to Hannibal, Twain learned that military companies were

being organized to assist Governor Jackson, and he enlisted as a Confederate

soldier. Within a short period, he abandoned the cause, deserted the military, and

along with thousands of other men avoiding the draft, moved West. On his way to

Nevada, twelve years after the Gold Rush, Twain's primary intentions were to

strike it rich mining for silver and gold. After realizing the impossibility of this

dream, Twain once again picked up his pen and began to write.

Twain joined the staff of the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, and became an

established reporter/humorist. In 1863, he adopted the pseudonym Mark Twain,

derived from a river pilot term describing safe navigating conditions. In 1869 he

published his first book of travel letters entitled Innocents Abroad. The book was

criticized widely and discouraged Twain from pursuing a literary career. In the

years that followed, Twain published various articles, made lecture circuits, and

relocated between San Francisco, New York, and Missouri. During this time he

also met Olivia Langdon, whom he married on February 2, 1870. In November of

the same year, their first son, Langdon Clemens, was born prematurely.

The Clemens family quickly fell into debt. However, when over 67,000 copies of

Innocents Abroad sold within its first year, the American Publishing Company

asked Twain for another book. Upon Olivia's request, the couple moved to the

domicile town of Hartford, Connecticut, where Twain composed Roughing It,

which documented the post-Gold Rush mining epoch and was published in 1872.

In March of 1872, Twain's daughter Susan Olivia was born, and the family

appeared prosperous. Unfortunately, Langdon soon came down with Diphtheria

and died. Twain was torn apart by his son's death, and blamed himself.

Moreover, Roughing It was only mildly successful, which added to the family's

hardships.

After traveling to Europe for a lecture series, Twain experienced a turning point in

his career. Twain's newest novel, The Gilded Age, written in collaboration with

Charles Dudley Warner, was published in 1873. The novel is about the 1800s era


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of corruption and exploitation at the expense of public welfare. The Gilded Age

was Twain's first extended work of fiction and marked him in the literary world as

an author rather than a journalist.

After the broad success of The Gilded Age, Twain began a period of

concentrated writing. In 1880, his third daughter, Jean, was born. By the timeTwain reached age fifty, he was already considered a successful writer and

businessman. His popularity sky-rocketed with the publications of The

Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), The Prince and the Pauper (1882), and The

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885). By 1885, Twain was considered one the

greatest character writers in the literary community.

Twain died on April 21, 1910, having survived his children Langdon, Susan and

Jean as well as his wife, Olivia. In his lifetime, he became a distinguished

member of the literati, and was honored by Yale, the University of Missouri, and

Oxford with literary degrees. With his death, many volumes of his letters, articles,

and fables were published, including: The Letters of Quintas Curtius Snodgrass

(1946); Simon Wheeler, Detective(1963); The Works of Mark Twain: What is

Man? and Other Philosophical Writings(1973); and Mark Twain's Notebooks and

Journals (1975-79). Perhaps more than any other classic American writer, Mark

Twain is seen as a phenomenal author, but also as a personality that defined an

era.

II. Writing style

1. Elements

Mark Twains writing style was characterized for having the following elements:

Realism:

Mark Twain used realism to explain social, economic, gender, religious, and

racial problems in American culture and other cultures. He used realism in his

writing to shock and educate his readers. His characters were not extraordinary

people in fantastic situations, but plain, normal, everyday people dealing with the

trials and tribulations of plain, normal, everyday life. Although he created his

characters with harsh racist ideals, these ideals are exactly what made Twain's

writing so true to life. Twain used realism in his writing to shock and educate his

readers.


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Local color:

Mark Twain presents and analyses rural life. He focuses in a particular

geographical region and its unique features such as dialect, customs, tradition,

topography, history, and characters. The narrator serves as a translator, making

the region understandable for the reader.

Regional Dialect:

Twain wrote in the vernacular of the time. Lack of grammar, incorrect sentence

structure and words that you would never find in the English dictionary compose

Huck's language and allow the reader to get a feel for his character as well as the

customs of the specific region he comes from .Even though, this was notgrammatically correct, it gave the characters life and allowed the reader to

familiarize themselves with the characters. This way, when the character does

something that the reader doesn't understand, the reader may stop to ponder

why they would do that. And to have the reader stop, and analyze themselves, is

exactly the effect Twain intended his writing to have on people.

Attention to detail:

Mark Twain paid close attention to detail in his writing. With this detail he was

able to draw the reader into the book and immerse them into the story.

Satire:

Twain exposes the evil in society by satirizing the institutions of religion,

education and slavery. For example, he shows that most learned of characters

aren't always necessarily the smartest ones.One of his techniques in writinginvolves his way of making a point without one knowing whether or not he is

kidding.

2. Importance


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Before Twains writing, literature was thought to be more of an entertainment

rather than an education. People wanted to hear fantasy describing a perfect

world with a fine line between the good and the bad. When people began to read

some of Twain's writing such as The Adventures of Huck Finn, readers were

distraught when they realized that they themselves, along with rest of society,

held much of the same ideals as the so called "bad men" depicted throughout the

book.

III. Major Works

The Celebrated Jum ping Frog of Calaveras Coun ty(1867)

The story was first published in November 18th, 1865. It takes place in a gold-

mining camp in Calaveras County, California and has its origins in the folklore of

the Gold Rush era. It was one of Twains earliest writings, and helped establish

his reputation as a humorist.

The Innoc ents Ab road (1869)

The story is an adaptation of Twains newspaper reports of his adventures

traveling through Europe and the Middle East with other Americans. Voyaging on

the steamship Quaker City, the sightseers first make stops in Europe, including

Paris, Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome and Athens. Their journey culminates in an

extended trip through the Holy Land and Egypt. Throughout the book, Twain

mocks at the meeting of these pilgrims from the New World with the culture of

Old World, often represented by Twain as not equaling its reputation.

Roug hin g It (1872)

Roughing It, part autography, part dialogue, part tale, is Twains account of the

people and places he experienced when he and the American West were still

young. It tells the story of a 25 year old man called Sam Clemens who leaves his

job as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River because of the outbreak of the

Civil War and travels to the state of Nevada with his older brother by stagecoach.

The Gilded Age, with Charles Dud ley Warner (1873)

The story was written in collaboration with his neighbor Charles Dudley Warner

and reflects the mood of materialistic excess and cynical political corruption that

started with the Grant administration in 1869 and prevailed into the 1870s. The


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name of the story refers to the opulent tastes and jaded sensibilities of America's

wealthy during this period.

Mark Twain's Sk etches, New and Old (1875)

Mark Twain's Sketches, New and Old is a collection of Mark Twains sketchesand short stories originally issued as a Subscription Book by the American

Publishing Company. Most of the 63 selections are brief, averaging less than

1,500 words. Of 56 works that had been published previously, about 10 come

from Twain's early western journalism and about a third from the Galaxy. True

Williams, Mark Twain's most prolific book illustrator, drew 130 illustrations for

Sketches.

The Adv entures o f Tom Sawyer (1876)

The Adventures of Tom Sawyeris Mark Twains most popular novel. It tells about

the adventures of a young boy and friends in St. Petersburg, Missouri, a village

near the Mississippi River. The friendship of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn is one

of the most celebrated in American literature, built on imaginative adventures,

shared superstitions, and loyalty that rises above social convention.

A Tramp Abroad (1880)

A Tramp Abroad is a travel novel which contains the experiences of Mark Twain

during his tour to Germany, Switzerland and France. In this story, Twain is the

narrator of an uninformed American tourist visiting and discovering the mysteries

of the European continent.

The Prince and the Pauper (1881)

It is the story of Edward Tudor and Tom Canty, two young men who are the same

age, share the same features, but have different destinies. Edward is the heir to

the throne of England and Tom is a paupers child. They meet by chance and

decide to switch clothes just for fun, but fate suddenly casts them into each

other's worlds. Tom learns what is to be caught in the pomp and folly of the royal

court and the young prince learns what it is to survive in the lower depths of 16th

century English society. Through this story, Twain criticizes social hypocrisy andinjustice in a satiric way.

Life on th e Mississip pi (1883)

Life on the Mississippi is a textbook on the history, life and lore of the Great River

during the 19th century, but also a primer on the "science" of the piloting the


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Mississippi during the heyday of the great steamboats that once plied the

greatest inland waterway of America.

Adv entures of Huckleberry Finn (1884)

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twains classic novel, was set in the time ofslavery prior to the Civil War. It tells the story of a teenage misfit who finds

himself floating on a raft down the Mississippi River with an escaping slave, Jim.

In the course of their perilous journey, Huck and Jim meet with adventure,

danger, and a cast of characters who are sometimes menacing and often

hilarious. Twain uses Huck's predicaments to illustrate the failure of

reconstruction in the postCivil War South.

A Con nect icut Yankee in King Arthur 's Cou rt (1889)

It is one of the worlds first stories about time travel. The main character, HankMorgan, superintendent at the Colt Firearms Factory in Hartford, Connecticut, is

hit on the head in a fight, knocking him unconscious. He wakes up in the time of

King Arthur and uses his 19th century knowledge to gain power over the people.

Hank introduces conveniences and structures familiar to 1880's Hartford such as

schools, factories, bicycles, and gunpowder. At first, Hank is convinced that his

ideas will help to improve peoples lifestyle, but as he takes command he turns

more and more to violence and loses control of his circumstances.

The Diary o f Ad am & Eve (1893/1905)

Extracts from Adam's Diary (1893) is a clever and comical story about the

creation of the world and the adventures Adam encounters as he explores his

new world. Twain uses this work as a forum to express his irrelevant thoughts on

conventional religion. By contrast, Eve's Diary (1905) is Twain's tribute to his

wife, Livy. It speaks eloquently of kindness, the good found in all people and is

overall. Adam's last words at Eve's grave are "wheresoever she was, there was

Eden."

The Tragedy o f Pudd 'nhead Wilso n (1894)

It is the story of a murder which takes place in a town of Mississipi. It has strong

and weak black and white characters. One of the main characters is a woman,

which is unusual in Mark Twains writing.


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Person al Recol lectio ns o f Joan of A rc (1896).

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc is Mark Twainsversion of Joan of Arcs

story. Joan of Arc was considered by Twain as an ideal woman (gentle, selfless

and pure, but also courageous and eloquent) and the model after his oldest

daughter, who died tragically three months after the novel, was published.

Follow ing th e Equator (1897)

Following the Equator, his last travel book, is a straightforward narrative of his

world lecture tour of 195-96. It discusses topics such as Australian history and

economic development; East Indian culture; British rule in India; and South

African Politics. Even though it contains many humorous passages, it is written in

a more serious tone.

The Mysteriou s Stranger (1916)

In this story Twain reflects his feelings about religion and faith, good and evil. It is

a tale set in medieval times that tells the story of some boys encounter stranger

who performs wonderful feats of magic and shows them different times and

places through history. The stranger turns out to be a nephew of Satan.

IV. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The book was published in 1876 and is seen today as a classic of Young

adultfiction. It is unusual for the time around 1876, to be narrated in the everyday

language of those days. The author designed a counter concept to the childrens

books which were common then, about well-behaved boys and girls.

1. Plot

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a typical scallywag story and plays in the

mid 19th Century in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, at the riverside

of the Mississippi River. The town is a typical small-town where Christian faith is

predominant and the social network is close-knit. The orphan boy Tom lives withhis Aunt Polly, with his half brother Sid, his cousin Mary and the black slave Jim.

Sid is well-behaved and tells on Tom at every opportunity. Tom, however, likes to

skive off school, fight and hang out with his best friend Huckleberry Finn. The

latter does not have a fix abode, his mother is dead and his father is a well-

known drunkard.


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In the beginning of the story the reader gets to know Tom Sawyer stealing from

the jam jar of his aunts pantry. The boy escapes being hit by Polly and then

plays hooky for the rest of the day and gets into a fight. When Tom comes home

with a torn shirt, he gets punished and has to paint Aunt Pollys fence. Every time

a boy passes by, Tom says, what an honor it is to be allowed to paint this fence.

The boys ask if they can try it once, and that is how the fence gets painted

completely.

Polly is surprised to see that the fence is finished and lets Tom go, after which he

goes to play with his friend Joe Harper. On his way home, Tom passes the

Judges house, and sees a beautiful girl in the garden. It is Becky Thatcher. Tom

immediately falls in love with her.

The next day at Sunday school, Tom trades in things with other boys for tickets to

earn a free Bible. The children usually get tickets by learning two thousand Bible

verses by heart. Becky Thatcher is also there with her father, the judge. Tomproudly claims his Bible in front of everyone, but cannot name the first two

disciples when questioned by Judge Thatcher.

Before school on Monday, Tom runs into Huckleberry Finn, who can do what he

wants because of his family situation. All the children, including Tom, envy Huck.

Tom and Huck start discussing various ways to cure warts, and then agree to

meet up at the graveyard at midnight to try out a new cure involving a dead cat.

Tom arrives late at school and that is why the headmaster asks him to explain

himself, Tom tells him that he's been talking to Huckleberry Finn, which shocksthe headmaster. Tom is punished and forced to sit next to the girl. Tom

impresses her with his awful drawing skills, and then introduces himself. The

girl's name is Becky and they agree to meet at recess.

At recess, Tom gets Becky to tell her she loves him and suggests to get

engaged. But when Tom accidentally tells her that he has been engaged before

to Amy Lawrence, he ruins his relationship with Becky and becomes heartbroken.

That night, Tom goes with Huck to the cemetery, to try their cure against warts.

Suddenly three men come to the cemetery: Injun Joe, a half-caste the villagers

are afraid of, Muff Potter, the town drunk and the young village doctor Robinson.

Injun Joe and Muff Potter open a grave and put a corpse on a wheelbarrow. The

doctor wants to bring the dead body to his house, but Injun Joe wants more

money. It comes to a fight and Injun Joe first knocks Muff Potter into

unconsciousness and then stabs the young doctor with Muff's knife to death.

When Muff Potter regains consciousness, Joe makes him believe that he was the


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murderer of the young doctor. Tom and Huck vow to never reveal anything. The

next day the murder is discovered and Muff Potter is sent to prison.

The following day is miserable for Tom. His Aunt Polly learns from Sid that Tom

escaped the night before and scolds him. At school, Becky ignores Tom. Hurt

and angry, Tom decides with Huck and Joe Harper to become pirates. Theirhideaway is Jackson Island in the middle of the Mississippi River. They enjoy the

pirate life there, while their families believe they have drowned. Tom goes

secretly back and spies. When Huck and Joe want to quit piracy after a storm,

Tom can persuade them to stay telling them about his secret mainland visit,

where he overheard Polly and Mrs. Harper making plans for their funerals. The

boys then wait until the morning and burst into their own funeral. The joy of the

mourners about their survival is high.

At school, the boys are envied by the other pupils; however, Tom has still not

won back Becky's heart. When Tom inadvertently catches Becky reading theheadmaster's book, she jumps up out of surprise and breaks it. Later that day,

when the headmaster asks Becky whether she had broken the book, Tom lies

and says that he was who committed the act. Although he takes the punishment

for Becky, he wins back her love and attention.

After the summer holidays, Muff Potters trial begins. Injun Joe, Tom and Huck

are present. Tom breaks his oath of never telling anything and saves so Muff

Potter from being hanged. Injun Joe can escape, and Tom lives from now on in

fear that Joe is going to kill him.

In autumn Tom and Huck decide to be treasure hunters. They look in a decayed

house which is said to be haunted. Suddenly being on the second floor, Injun Joe

and an accomplice come into the house to hide money. While they are digging

they discover a chest full of coins, which they take with them in order to hide

elsewhere.

Several days later, Huck follows the two criminals to find out the hiding place of

the treasure. He overhears a conversation and learns that Injun Joe seeks

revenge and therefore wants to mutilate the widow of the old sheriff. Huck can

get help, but the criminals escape.

Becky, who has been out-of-town, returns to St. Petersburg and holds a picnic for

all of her friends. Part of the festivities is to visit the MacDougal's cave. Tom and

Becky get lost in the large cave. Tom meets Injun Joe, who, however, does not

see him in the dark. At last Tom and Becky find another exit. Later Tom learns

that Becky's father, Judge Thatcher, after their disappearance, had ordered to

close the entrance of the cave to prevent further accidents. Tom then reveals that


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he had seen Injun Joe there. The criminal is found dead in the cave; he had not

managed to open the door, and had starved to death.

Tom also finds in the cave the enormous treasure that Injun Joe had hidden here.

Tom and Huck share it honestly, and Huck is adopted by the widow of the judge.

However, Huck flees after some time from the strictly civilized life with the widowand decides with his friend Tom, to lead a life in freedom and become world-

class robbers.

2. Characters:

2.1 Main Character

Tom Sawyer

Tom is a naughty boy who spends most of the time getting into trouble. For him

his friend Huck represents freedom and independence, but at the end of the

novel, he persuades Huck to life with the Widow Douglas. Tom wants to start a

robbers' gang.

Tom is a leader in the games and adventures in which he and his friends are

involved. He is like a theatre director in the way that he has the ability to

construct a scenario and determine what each character in his 'plot' will do. For

example, he is able to get other children to paint for him by making the job seem

like a rare privilege.

Although Tom is smart and good-hearted, he does not think about the

consequences of his actions and is often punished by Aunt Polly. As the novel

progresses, he undergoes a moral growth and begins to consider others more

and tries to do what is right, rather than simply what is fun. A turning point comes

with his realization of the suffering he has caused Aunt Polly by his

disappearance to the island. Later, he cannot live with his bad conscience over

Muff Potter's being punished for a murder he did not do, and testifies in court,

risking Injun Joe's revenge.

Huckleberry Finn (Huck)

Huck is the son of the town drunkard and hated by the mothers of the town

because he is loved and admired by the children for being free and able to do

what he wants. He wears adult cast-off clothes and often sleeps in a barrel.

When Tom is trying to persuade him to give up his freedom and accept a life of


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civilization with the Widow Douglas, Huck reveals that money and materiality has

no value for him.

Huck is less of a romantic fantasist than Tom, being more of a realist, but he

goes along with Tom's bizarre superstitions. One of the most obvious differences

between Huck and Tom is their responses to danger. Tom is more likely to seekit out and think of an ingenious way to deal with it, whereas Huck's first instinct is

generally to run away. He cannot be blamed for this, as it has probably allowed

him to survive in his vagrant life.

Injun Joe

The novel's villain. Injun Joe is half native American and half Caucasian, which

accounts for his outcast status of the time. Injun Joe kills Dr Robinson in revenge

for the doctor's father having driven him away when he came begging at his

house, and then frames Muff Potter for the murder. He feels no remorse for hiscrimes and undergoes no moral growth: in short, he is an unredeemed villain.

Injun Joe escapes justice when he leaps from the courtroom window during the

trial for Dr Robinson's murder. He subsequently adopts the disguise of a deaf and

dumb Spaniard. That Injun Joe finally pays for his crimes is no thanks to a group

of "sappy women" in St Petersburg, who petition the Governor to pardon him in

spite of the fact that he is believed to have killed five people. Fortunately, natural

justice takes over and Injun Joe dies of starvation after Judge Thatcher blocks up

the cave he uses as a hide-out.

Muff Potter

A drunk and friend of Injun Joe's. With Injun Joe, he is employed by Dr Robinson

to steal Hoss William's corpse for use in medical experiments. Injun Joe frames

Potter for the murder of Dr Robinson. Despite his involvement in the relatively

minor crime of grave-robbing, Potter is kindly, trusting and naive, and falls for

Injun Joe's story that he (Potter) did the murder while drunk. When Potter is jailed

awaiting trial for murder, he believes that Tom is being a good and selfless friend

to him by bringing him small gifts. He does not realize that Tom is trying to

appease his conscience for failing to speak out about the true culprit.

Becky Thatcher

The daughter of Judge Thatcher. Becky replaces Amy Lawrence in Tom's

affections and one of the plot threads concerns his attempts to court her. Becky

is a well-behaved girl who is horrified when she looks set to be given a whipping


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by the teacher for tearing his book. Tom's selfless act in taking her punishment

on himself wins her over.

Joe Harper

At the beginning of the novel, Joe is Tom's best friend, though after his stay onthe island with Tom and Huck, he seems to be replaced in that role by Huck, and

recedes from the plot. Joe is the first to become seriously homesick on the island

and the first to try to leave.

Aunt Polly

Aunt Polly takes over the guardianship of Tom after the death of his mother, her

sister. Aunt Polly is a kind-hearted woman who suffers much internal conflict

regarding how to deal with Tom. She feels that she should discipline him, but

when she does, she feels guilty and sorry for him. Aunt Polly wants to know that

she is loved, and is made happy when Tom reassures her that he does care for

her.

Judge Thatcher

The county judge and Becky's father. Judge Thatcher is a local celebrity. When

he visits the Sunday school, everyone shows off in order to impress him. Judge

Thatcher forms a high opinion of Tom after Tom successfully gets himself and

Becky out of the cave. He is indirectly responsible for Injun Joe's death when he

blocks up the cave entrance for the sake of public safety. At Aunt Polly's request,

he takes on the job of investing Tom's new-found wealth.

2.2 Themes, Motifs & Symbols

Moral and Social Maturation

At the beginning, Tom is a naughty boy. He becomes more mature throughout

the novel, helping others more than thinking of himself. For example, saying the

truth in the trial which helps to save Muff Potter from death. Or taking Beckyspunishment.

When Tom goes away from the community to Jacksons island and McDougals

Cave he returns to the town as a more mature person who suddenly has a

different relationship to the community.


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Society

The author criticises social institutions such as school, church and the law and

shows that the social authority does not always act in a correct way and also has

mistakes. He shows the discord that exists between values and behaviour.

Social Exclusion

In the small town of St. Petersburg, outsiders are easily identified. The outsiders

of the community are Huck Finn, Muff Potter and Injun Joe. Huck and Muff are

accepted, while Injun Joe is a complete outsider. The exclusion of Huck is

evident when other children are not allowed to play with him.

Superstition

We see superstition in the graveyard, where Tom and Huck try to find a magical

cure for warts. From this point on superstition marks every decision the boys

take. Mark Twain sees superstition as a resemblance to religion.

Crime

In the novel all kind of offenses are mentioned, from skipping classes to murder.

Also all the games the boys play are focused on crime, as they want to bepirates, robbers or treasure hunters.

Trading

The children constantly trade little treasures in order to get something else. When

Tom is, for example, at the Sunday school he uses treasures to get the tickets for

the bible.

The Cave

The cave represents a trial that Tom has to pass before he can graduate into

maturity.


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The Treasure

The treasure is a symbolic goal that marks the end of the boys journey. It

becomes an indicator of Toms transition into adulthood and Hucks movement

into civilized society.

The Town

Many readers interpret the small town of St. Petersburg as a microcosm of the

United States or of society in general. All of the major social institutions are

present on a small scale in the town. The challenges and joys Tom encounters in

the town are, in their basic structure, ones that he or any reader could expect to

meet anywhere.

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