The adventures of Tom Sawyer
Summary. Tom Sawyer is a young boy who hates school, work, and social constraints.
Tom Sawyer is a young boy who hates school, work, and social constraints. After skipping school to go swimming, his Aunt Polly punishes him by making him whitewash (paint) a long wooden fence on Saturday. Using his sharp wit, Tom pretends that painting the fence is a rare, joyful privilege. His friends become so envious that they actually pay Tom with their own treasures (like a dead rat on a string and a piece of chalk) just to let them do his chore.
“Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”-Mark Twain
Tom falls deeply in love with a new girl in town, Becky Thatcher. He convinces her to get “engaged” to him, but the romance quickly falls apart when Becky learns that Tom was previously “engaged” to another girl named Amy Lawrence. Heartbroken, Tom decides to run away.
The story takes a dark turn when Tom and his outcast friend, Huckleberry Finn, sneak into the local cemetery at midnight to test a superstition about curing warts. While hidden, they witness a real-world crime: Injun Joe murders young Dr. Robinson during a graveyard fight and frames the innocent, drunk Muff Potter. Terrified of Injun Joe’s vengeance, Tom and Huck swear a blood oath never to tell anyone what they saw.
