Closing Up

In conclusion, I don't think that I will read more books by Mark Twain. Although I did enjoy most of this book, the writing style was much too out of character for me. I enjoyed expanding my vocabulary and I had many good laughs. There were a few too many dry spots in the plot where I would expect a climax.

Instead of the usual 'intro, inciting action, rising action, major crisis, climax, denouement' there were two points of rising action with a dry spot between. The second point of rising action did end up in a major crisis, climax, and finally, a denouement. In the end I was very satisfied with it all. I'm also very glad that I did read the book, and got through it all. It was worth it.

The atmosphere was very well displayed and well thought out. The setting of the story was elaborate. I learned quite a bit about what the mid 1800's were like along the Mississippi River. The tone conveyed by the author, Mark Twain, was often humorous. But there were also times that I thought the tone was quite melancholy. But overall, it was a good mix.

I think that the characters were very well put together. Tom Sawyer was a very likable boy. I loved reading about the ridiculous things he did. His mischievous character could make anyone laugh. Tom Sawyer was a static character; predictably funny. Huckleberry Finn was my favorite character. He was an outcast. He was different, yet the same as all the other boys. He had no restrictions and no supervision, so he was always up for a challenge. I think that he was a very dynamic character as I was constantly learning new things about him even to the end of the book. These two characters made up the two protagonists.

I think that the antagonist was really Injun Joe in the end. Even from the start, he was causing trouble. I never liked him, and when I tried to imagine him, I just couldn't put a face to the description. He was definitely a dynamic character, as most antagonists are. He would pop up here and there in the beginning of the story, but became more involved near the end.

I did enjoy this book a lot, although I am glad to get it done with. I'm going to have a good night sleep with the knowledge that Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are safe and happy. I became sort of attached to these characters. Thank you Mark Twain.

Treasure Hunt'n

When school went on break, there was a trial for Muff Potter. Tom and Huck would go to see him in jail often. Finally Tom couldn't keep the secret any longer. He knew it was really Injun Joe that had committed the murder, not Muff Potter. So Tom went and told Muff's lawyer. Tom stood in front of the court and told everyone the truth. He got a lot of glory from that. But Injun Joe had escaped. He was always afraid at night that Injun Joe would come after him. Tom and Huck were both quite uneasy.

This bit was sort of dull to read until it got to Injun Joe escaping. After this, the plot begins to build itself up again. Overall, this story had two plots. There was the time when Tom, Huck, and Joe were on the island. And then there's the time following Injun Joe's escape. I find this quite interesting. I wonder why Mark Twain wrote this book that way. In my opinion, it made spots in the book very dull. But when there was action, it was hilarious and exciting.

Following Injun Joe's escape, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn went treasure hunting. They overheard Injun Joe talking about treasure. Of course, Tom and Huck had to get involved. They followed Injun Joe around. But Tom got distracted with Becky Thatcher. Becky and Tom ended up getting lost in a cave with Injun Joe! Meanwhile, Huck saves a poor, endangered widow. When Becky and Tom get out of the cave, the townspeople close the cave. Shortly after, Injun Joe dies of starvation. Huck gets adopted by this widow, and the two boys go back for the gold. In the end, Tom and Huck are rich, Huck has a home, and Tom has a girl.

Pride and Glory

All along, Tom had a plan. His plan was to sneak back into town during their funeral and surprise everyone. And that's just what they did. Tom, Huck, and Joe all showed their faces and received their glory on Sunday in front of the whole town. It was their 'proudest moment'. Tom then proceeded to soak up all of the fame and glory from everyone around town. They were the center of attention.

This section was so great. It even had me laughing out loud. Mark Twain wrote in such a way that I could just picture the whole predicament. It was a very unexpected twist, yet it was so compatible with Tom's character.

After Tom is done soaking in the glory, the school has a day for examinations. Many students stand up and recite different readings or poems or other literature. After a little bit of research, I found that on section that was read was adapted from The Course of Time by Robert Pollock. This section reads:

"My dearest friend, my counsellor, my comforter and guide--

My joy in grief, my second bliss in joy, came to my side."

One of the websites I got my information was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Course_of_Time. Another place I got my information was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer pg. 264

Pirates

Tom, Huck, and a boy named Joe all set out to run away from home. They were going to become outcasts, pirates. And that is just what they did. They stole a raft in the middle of the night and sailed away to a small uninhabited island. There, they set up camp. The people back in St. Petersburg all think that the three boys have drowned. They went out searching for them, but are prepared to have a funeral the following Sunday.

I am really liking this story. I love the adventurous aspect to these last four chapters. The three boys are out fending for themselves. They have enough food and fire and are quite content. And the whole adventure really makes me smile. I really do hope they stay on the island and continue to pursue their dreams of becoming 'pirates'.

The atmosphere in this story has changed. They moved from being in the town to being on an island. The three boys, Tom, Huck and Joe, are alone on an uninhabited island. Everything is very bright and green. There are plants all around, clear water, and animals everywhere. From birds to bugs to catfish. The air is humid and the boys are in their glory. Everything they do is exciting and new. The mood of the story has suddenly taken a very adventurous angle. The boys are living life on the edge and experiencing the world independently and daringly.

Pain-Killers

Tom was becoming depressed and Aunt Polly was quite worried about it. She tried tons of different treatments but none of them seemed to cure him. Finally she ordered some pain-killers. This worked great for Tom. So much so, that he loved the pain-killers. He became addicted to them. It became a drug to him. And when he was off of them, he became 'sick' again. He wanted Becky back. But she was sick too. Finally when he saw her again, she ignored him.

Chapter 13 adds to all of the drama between Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher. But besides that, this is also a very funny chapter - or at least I thought so. I found myself with quite the smirk on my face as I was reading about Tom getting addicted to the pain-killers. Or when Tom feeds pain-killers to the cat and the cat goes psycho. Just another example of Mark Twain using humor as an artistic device!

Graveyard

Tom and Huck snook out in the night and went to the graveyard. There, they saw 3 men dig up a corpse. They were all drunk. One of the men, Muff Potter, was hit by Injun Joe and passed out. Injun Joe stabbed the doctor. When Muff Potter woke up, he was so drunk he thought that he had killed the doctor. Injun Joe let him believe it. Tom and Huck witnessed it all and fled. They swore never to tell a soul and went their separate ways. Tom ended up with quite a guilt trip from Aunt Polly.

I think that these two chapters played a part in the plot. These two chapters signify a greater bond between Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Their friendship has grown and their trust in each other has strengthened through the experiences they went through. This chapter leaves many loose ends and questions. Will the murder ever get out? What will this mean for Tom and Huck? Who will 'spill the beans'? Will Injun Joe or Muff Potter take the blame?

I think that this event would be called the 'inciting incident'. It's the incident that begins the main conflict of the story. The author, Mark Twain, is about done introducing the characters and is not starting the action.

These chapters gave the reader a very eerie mood. The chapters were set in a grave yard for the most part. It was dark and gloomy, just right for a homicide. It gave me chills, trying to picture the whole experience in one of the boys' point of view.

In the next chapter, most of the questions are answered. The murder is exposed by noon. Injun Joe lies, saying that Muff Potter was the murderer and Potter is sent to Jail. Tom and Huck have it on their consciouses for the next few weeks. Tom talks in his sleep about it and Sid becomes suspicious but says nothing about it.

A Broken Heart

In this chapter, Tom Sawyer gets 'engaged'. Or so he thinks. Tom talks Becky Thatcher into saying, "I Love You!" and letting him kiss her. She agrees to them being 'engaged'. But then tom accidentally brings up Amy Lawrence, his previous crush. Becky begins to cry and cry. After many attempts to calm Becky down, Tom storms out of the school house and doesn't return again that day.

So much drama in two short chapters it's ridiculous! In chapter 6, Tom meets Becky and learns her name. In chapter 7, Tom kisses her and they exchange love remarks. They agree to be engaged but shortly after, Tom breaks her heart and they both part angry. This all happens in one day! What an eventful day.

In "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" Mark Twain uses a 'third-person omniscient' narrative point of view. This means that the reader gets to peer into the thoughts of all of the characters. The narrator or author knows all. They know the thoughts of all the characters and know exactly what will happen next. This gives the author many opportunities to foreshadow. Foreshadowing gives us a hint of something that may happen later on in the novel.

Part of every good character is conflict. Now, Tom Sawyer finds himself in many conflicts. One conflict that is quite obvious in this chapter is 'man vs. himself' conflict. This means that Tom is battling with himself. He is trying to make a decision and doesn't know how to go about it. He is deciding whether or not to go back and try once more to console Becky. She is frustrated and sobbing and Tom is stressed and doesn't know what to do about the whole situation. So he runs.

Tom Sawyer ended up in Sherwood Forest thinking about all of the troubles in his life. Joe Harper, Tom's best friend, appeared all dressed and ready for battle. Tom and Joe fought and quoted the lines from Robin Hood. They stayed for hours changing roles and finding pleasure in 'killing' each other.

"I Love You"

In this next chapter a new character is introduced, Huckleberry Finn. Huck is a bit of an outcast. The kids aren't allowed to play with him but admire him in abundance. Huck has no rules he has to follow. His Father is a drunkard, and He isn't told to do anything by anyone. Tom Sawyer meets this new character and gets whipped for talking to him. Tom spends his day in school attempting to impress the new girl and learning her name: Becky Thatcher.

I think that now, Mark Twain is building the plot up. Two key characters have been introduced: Huckleberry Finn and Becky Thatcher. I think that Tom Sawyer and his mischievous attitude, Huckleberry Finn with his lack of rules and restrictions, and Becky Thatcher, Tom's new love interest, will make up the main characters for the rest of the story.

Tom Sawyer has shown to be a static character so far. He continues to show the same reckless attitude throughout the story. His actions are humorous, but not surprising. Tom's character is revealed through his actions and his words. He tends to be lippy when it comes to what he says and does.

One artistic device I've noticed a lot in this novel, is diction. Diction is the style of writing according to the choice of words. Mark Twain has excellent diction in my opinion. The way he words things is impeccable. It makes the chapters easy and entertaining to read. It forces me to learn new words and expand my vocabulary.

In this chapter it mentions that Tom Sawyer uses a slate to write on in school. One website I found shows various 'Victorian writing tools'. One of these is a slate. http://www.ehow.com/list_6778502_victorian-writing-tools.html

A Beetle and a Poodle

Chapter 5 of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" was another humorous chapter. Tom Sawyer is stuck in church and is forced to find some way to entertain himself. A beetle and a dog put on a bit of a show for Tom Sawyer during the church service. This chapter explains this distraction in full detail.

The author, Mark Twain, uses quite a few artistic devices. In this chapter, one line popped out to me:

"...the Rev. Mr. Sprague turned himself into a bulletin board and read off notices..." Pg. 41

This is an example of a metaphor. Mark Twain uses this partly because it is a humorous comparison but also because it helps us relate to how Tom Sawyer feels about the event that is taking place. From this phrase, I know that Tom Sawyer didn't care much for what the Rev. was saying. I can also tell that the Rev. mustn't have been reading the notices in a very intriguing way, as a bulletin board is often not intriguing.

Another artistic device Mark Twain uses constantly in this novel is humor. This can take many forms. In "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" the humor I see most is the quick thinking from Tom Sawyer and his blunt, mischievous attitude. Mark Twain makes this book entertaining by including stories that make the reader laugh or smile. I think that this would have to be one of my favorite artistic devices as I enjoy quick-witted humor quite a bit.