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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Final Projects

Choose from one of the following options:

1. A Eulogy is a speech or piece of writing that praises someone who has recently died. In chapter 17 of Tom Sawyer, the people of the town believe that Tom has drowned, and they hold a funeral for him. Imagine that you are one of the following characters: Aunt Polly, Sid, Becky Thatcher, or Mary and write a eulogy for Tom from that person’s point of view (minimum 1 ½ pages). Some things you could include in your eulogy are as follows: a brief life history, details about family and friends, likes, dislikes, characteristics, or favorite quotes and memories of Tom. Please use at least 2 direct quotations from the book to support what you say in your eulogy. Also, make sure that everything written in your eulogy is backed up with textual evidence.

2. By the end of the novel, Huck and Tom share a life-changing experience and become good friends, but they are still different in many ways. Write a 1 ½-2 page paper where you compare and contrast the two characters. Offer evidence from the text to support the similarities and differences that you come up with. In searching the text for ideas, you may want to pay special attention to the treasure hunting scene in chapter 26, the scene in which the boys dig for the treasure in the cave in chapter 33, Widow Douglas’s party in chapter 34, and the last chapter.

3. Create a book cover for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Make it look good so that other people your age will want to read this book! Design your book cover as follows:

• Front: Title, author, appropriate (original) graphic of one scene from the book

• Flap 1: Summary – include at least two direct quotes from the book (200+ words)

• Flap 2: Review – why should someone read this book? What can we learn from it? (300+ words)

• Back: at least 3 made-up blurbs from critics, reviewers, or modern day authors

4. Add another chapter to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (minimum 1 ½-2 pages). Your extra chapter can be inserted at any point throughout the book. You can choose to create a prologue or epilogue, or just an extra chapter somewhere in the middle. Mark Twain used inspiration from his childhood to come up with a lot of Tom’s adventures. Think of major events from your childhood. They might give you some good ideas. Remember, you’re adding on to Mark Twain’s book, so try and imitate his writing style while still holding onto your own voice. Make sure any dialogue is written with the Southern dialect that Twain uses. Be creative, but make sure your extra chapter is still believable as something that might have really happened to Tom Sawyer.

5. Superstitions are a major theme from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In a small group, (no more than 3) film a news story about superstitions. Each group member must appear on film in your news story, so take turns being the cameraman. Interview at least 3 people asking them the following questions:

1. Are you superstitious? Why or why not?

2. What superstitions have you heard of?

3. Why do you think people are superstitious?

You may use a fellow student for 1 of the interviews, but the other 2 must be adults (parents, grandparents, older brothers or sisters, etc.) In the introduction of your news story you must talk about what superstitions are, why you believe they are used in Mark Twain’s writing, and include some examples of superstitions from the text (at least 4). Lastly, each individual group member (on their own) must write a short ½ page response to this question: Why did Mark Twain talk about superstitions in his novel? What do you think he’s trying to say about his characters and the culture they come from?

** All final projects should be typed and double spaced with 12 point font.

Due Date – Wednesday, Sept. 25

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