tom sawyer

A detailed Summary of tom sawyer


"Our greatest battles are (those) with our own minds" is a valid quote, which can be used in analyzing the novel, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", by Mark Twain. People are often faced with decisions where a choice must be made. Often multiple possibilities exist and a course of action must be chosen. It is not always easy to decide which way to go. The struggle within ourselves is often more troublesome than outward battles. Our heart or our mind may tell us to act one way while we really prefer to act another way. Our conscience often plays a role in the battles with our minds. Even when a decision has been made to proceed along a particular path we may still grapple over whether that choice was correct. Sometimes the initial decision is the easiest, having been made with little thought. Subsequently we regret that decision and the battle first begins. Nothing is more difficult than having the responsibility of making our own decisions and ultimately living with them.

There are several instances in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", where battles exist within the minds of the characters. Tom and Huck see a dreadful crime in the cemetery one night. They witness a quarrel where Injun Joe stabs Dr. Robinson to death wh


Tom Sawyer is faced with the decision to reveal the murderer as being Injun Joe and not Muff Potter or to remain silent. His first inclination is the latter, to remain silent. However, over the next few days Tom becomes uncomfortable with his decision with respect to the murder. Tom feels conflict over whether to help protect his friend, Muff Potter, or to protect himself from Injun Joe. Although his choice has been made he still continues to grapple over his decision. It is clear that Tom's conscience is bothering him. This is seen by his talking in his sleep about the murder, his taking small comforts to Muff Potter in jail, and his avoidance of games, which involve murder. These actions taken by Tom are ironic. He is characterized as a free spirit willing to take adventures. The fact that Tom is concerned for another's life is an unexpected characteristic from Tom. Tom continues to be haunted throughout the book by his decision. Finally when the murder trial begins Tom becomes increasingly uneasy about his secret. Tom begins to feel guilty that an innocent man, Muff Potter, is in trouble for something he did not do. After contemplating his choices Tom decided to help Muff Potter by telling that it was Injun Joe who killed the doctor.

Huck was torn over helping the widow because he was unwelcome in the town and the townspeople did not like him. In this situation his heart and mind told him to act the appropriate way, even though it was in contrast to his normal behavior. Usually Huck lives outside society and is uninterested in being respectable.

ile Muff Potter is unco

Some common words found in the essay are:
Tom Sawyer, Muff Potter, Twain People, Injun Joe, Widow Douglass, Tom Huck, Huck Finn, Usually Huck, Tom Tom, , muff potter, injun joe, tom sawyer, adventures tom, adventures tom sawyer, own mind, remain silent, battles own, widow douglass, tom huck, tom feels,

Approximate Word count = 1080
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

join now Save Paper



Saved Paper

Save your papers so you can locate them quickly!

Newest Essays

Testimonials

  • "Thank You So Much!!! You have saved me once again!!!"
    Jack M.
  • "With so many papers to chose from, I was able to get ideas to help me with all of my classes. Thank You!"
    Brian P.
  • "I've used this site for the last 3 years to help me come up with ideas for my papers."
    Sara J.
  • "I use this site every week to help me write my own papers!"
    Rachel W.
  • "I love this site!!!"
    Marie N.