The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

[Pages:250]The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain

THE EMC MASTERPIECE SERIES

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Robert D. Shepherd EMC/Paradigm Publishing

St. Paul, Minnesota

Staff Credits: For EMC/Paradigm Publishing, St. Paul, Minnesota

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ISBN 0-8219-1637-8

Copyright ? 1998 by EMC Corporation

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be adapted, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without permission from the publishers.

Published by EMC/Paradigm Publishing 875 Montreal Way St. Paul, Minnesota 55102

Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 xxx 06 05 04 03 02 01 00

Table of Contents

The Life and Works of Mark Twain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Time Line of Twain's Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii The Historical Context of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. . . ix Characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . . . . . . . . . . xiii Illustrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi Echoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xviii Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chapter 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Chapter 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Chapter 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Chapter 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Chapter 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Chapter 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Chapter 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Chapter 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Chapter 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Chapter 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Chapter 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Chapter 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Chapter 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Chapter 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Chapter 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Chapter 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 Chapter 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Chapter 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Chapter 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Chapter 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Chapter 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Chapter 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Chapter 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Chapter 28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Chapter 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Chapter 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 Chapter 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Chapter 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Chapter 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER iii

Chapter 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 Chapter 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Plot Analysis of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer . . . . . . . . 210 Creative Writing Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Critical Writing Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Projects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 Handbook of Literary Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

iv THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF

Mark Twain

Mark Twain (1835?1910). Born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, Mark Twain was a humorist, novelist, reporter, lecturer, travel writer, and licensed riverboat pilot who became one of the most important writers of American literature. While working as a riverboat pilot, Clemens encountered the phrase that later became his pseudonym, or pen name--Mark Twain. Workers on Mississippi riverboats called out "mark twain" to indicate that the water was two fathoms deep--just barely deep enough for a riverboat.

When Twain was four years old, his family moved from Florida, Missouri, to the nearby town of Hannibal. Hannibal lay on the banks of the Mississippi River and became an important riverboat port. The town not only inspired his dreams of becoming a riverboat pilot but also served as the setting for novels such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In these books Twain changed the name Hannibal to St. Petersburg, meaning "St. Peter's town," or heaven.

When Twain was twelve years old, his father died. Twain then had to worry about making a living, so he followed his older brother's footsteps and left school to learn the printing trade. He became an apprentice, a person who works for someone in order to learn a trade or skill, to a printer. At the age of eighteen, Twain left Hannibal to work as a printer, first in St. Louis and then in New York. By this time, Twain had already begun to write and submit pieces to newspapers and magazines. When he was twenty-one, he went to New Orleans to depart for a trip to the Amazon River in South America. The plan fell apart, but Twain was apprenticed by a Mississippi riverboat pilot, a prestigious job that fulfilled his childhood dream. Twain worked as a riverboat pilot until the start of the Civil War. Before the Civil War, the Mississippi River was a lucrative trading route. When the war interrupted that trade, Twain was forced to find other work. He volunteered as a Confederate soldier but soon deserted and went west, where he worked as a reporter in Virginia City, Nevada, and adopted the name Mark Twain. After traveling to San

Mark Twain

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF MARK TWAIN v

Francisco and continuing his career in journalism, he met fellow frontier author Bret Harte, who encouraged Twain's literary sketches and stories. In 1865, Twain's short story "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published in the Saturday Press. This humorous story, a retelling of a popular nineteenth-century tall tale, won Twain national recognition as a writer. It focuses on a conversation between simple, uneducated men living in a frontier mining camp and is an excellent example of one of Twain's noted specialties-- regional writing. Twain had a gift for capturing in his writing regional dialects, or versions of a language spoken by people of particular places and social groups.

In 1866, Twain took a job at the Union in Sacramento, California. The Union sent him to the Sandwich Islands, now Hawaii, as a roving reporter. His comic articles about his trip established his reputation as a humorist. When Twain returned, he was able to make a living giving lectures. In 1867, he traveled aboard the steamship Quaker City on a lecture tour of Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land. He later compiled his lectures from this tour into The Innocents Abroad, a work which received considerable praise. Twain's unique background as a printer, writer, riverboat pilot, and wanderer provided him with plenty of interesting material on which to base a successful career as a writer and lecturer.

In 1870, Twain began a new stage of his life. He married Olivia Langdon, the daughter of a New York millionaire; invested in several unsuccessful business ventures; and moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he would spend the rest of his life and write some of his most famous novels about his experiences on the Mississippi, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), Life on the Mississippi (1883), and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884). Today, Huckleberry Finn is considered Twain's masterpiece, and it is often called the great American novel. Twain's other well-known works from this period include The Prince and the Pauper (1882), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889), and The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894).

In the 1890s, Twain suffered a series of misfortunes, including the deaths of his wife and two of his daughters, and monetary loss due to failed investments. Twain's later writings direct a great degree of bitterness at his fellow human beings. His most severe criticism, expressed in The War Prayer and Letters from Earth, was published after his death.

vi THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER

Time Line of Twain's Life

Samuel Langhorne Clemens is born on November 30 in the town of Florida, Missouri. Halley's comet appears on the same day.

The Clemens family moves to Hannibal, Missouri. Samuel is four years old.

By this time, the town of Hannibal has become a busy steamboat port on the Mississippi River. The area eventually serves as the setting for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Clemens's father dies. Clemens is apprenticed to a printer.

Clemens leaves Hannibal to work as a printer in St. Louis and in New York. He begins to write and submit some work to newspapers and magazines.

Clemens travels to New Orleans intending to sail to South America, but the plans fall through.

Clemens pursues his childhood dream of working on a steamboat by becoming an apprentice to a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River. He eventually becomes a licensed pilot and holds this prestigious position for nearly three years.

The Civil War breaks out and interrupts trade on the Mississippi River. Riverboats stop operating, and Clemens is forced to find another job. He decides to move west.

Clemens adopts the pen name Mark Twain for a piece written for the Territorial Enterprise of Virginia City, Nevada, where he works as a reporter.

Twain moves to California and takes a job as a reporter in San Francisco.

Twain publishes his story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in the Saturday Press. This story makes him popular and launches his writing career.

Twain takes a job at the Union in Sacramento, California. He is sent to the Sandwich Islands, now Hawaii, as a roving reporter. His comic articles about his trip establish his reputation as a humorist. When he returns, he makes his living giving lectures.

Twain tours Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land aboard the steamship Quaker City.

Twain collects his lectures from his tour aboard the Quaker City in the collection of sketches called The Innocents Abroad.

Twain marries Olivia Langdon. He also becomes a joint owner and editor of a newspaper in Buffalo, New York, called the Express.

1835 1839 1846 1847 1853 1854 1856

1861 1863 1864 1865 1866

1867 1869 1870

TIME LINE OF TWAIN'S LIFE vii

1872

1873 1876

1880 1882 1883 1884

1889 1894

1895 1896 1897 1898 1900

1904 1909 1910

Twain sells his interest in the newspaper, having lost a great deal of money on the project. He moves to a comfortable home in Hartford, Connecticut. Twain becomes a skilled storyteller, turning out a new book every few years.

Twain publishes The Gilded Age, about the years following the Civil War.

Twain publishes The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. With this book, Twain introduces something new to American fiction--a simple, natural writing style that resembles the speech of average Americans.

Twain publishes A Tramp Abroad.

Twain publishes The Prince and the Pauper.

Twain publishes Life on the Mississippi. This book is closely based on his experiences working on riverboats.

Twain publishes Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, long considered his masterpiece. Of this novel Ernest Hemingway would say, "All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

Twain publishes A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.

Twain has lost a great deal of money due to bad investments, and he is forced to declare bankruptcy. He publishes The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and Tom Sawyer Abroad.

Twain goes on a world lecture tour so that he can pay his debts. One of his daughters dies while he is on the tour.

Twain publishes Tom Sawyer, Detective.

Twain publishes Following the Equator, a book based on his lecture tour.

Twain is able to pay his debts. Nevertheless, his writing becomes increasingly dark and pessimistic.

The short story "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg," about greed in a small town, is published. It is the first of several pieces that show Twain's dark and angry side.

Twain's wife dies.

Twain's youngest daughter dies.

Mark Twain dies at the age of seventy-five in Redding, Connecticut. That same week, Halley's comet appears. Twain always believed that the appearance of the comet would mark his death as it did his birth.

viii THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER

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