The Thought Process of Tom Sawyer in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

To me, this quote is really shedding light on how a young boy thinks. At this point in the story we have met several characters, but this is the first time that the infamous Huckleberry Finn has been introduced. He is described as a carefree son of the drunkard who is looked down upon by the mothers of the town, but more of a cool celebrity to the children. Everyone admires him and it’s clear that he doesn’t mind the attention.

This quote is crucial to Tom’s character development and the way he makes future choices. After Tom has seen the murder in the Graveyard, he insists on telling the authorities. Huck thinking about the possible consequences, convinces him that if they tell, Injun Joe will kill them too and makes him promise to “keep mum”. Because of this one written promise Tom finds it very hard to not tell anyone, which causes Tom to become very sick and depressed. Aunt Polly, not knowing what’s wrong with him, tries multiple different home remedies that don’t work, so instead she goes to the doctor and gets him pain killer.

After Tom, Joe, and Huck make their big entrance at their own funeral, everyones so glad to see Tom and Joe, but since Huck doesn’t really have a family, no one is excited to see him. With this little gesture from Tom, it’s clear that he not only cares for himself, also care for the wellbeing and happiness of his friends and the people around him. I feel that because Huck has no family, it makes it harder for people to accept him as well. When Aunt Polly brings him in for a hug, it’s one of Huck’s first glimpses of real love from a family. I think because of this he is more apt to help others later on in the story.

When Tom reveals that he was, in fact, with them the night that they talked about the funeral, it makes Aunt Polly slightly agitated. He tells her that he meant it all for good and that he was going to give her a sign saying he was okay. Instead he comes up with the brilliant idea to crash his own funeral. When Aunt Polly doesn’t believe him, he tells her that the note is in his jacket, so once she sent Tom away she went and checked. Lo and behold there was the note, when she saw it, it brought a kind of unspeakable joy to her. This causes her to be more trusting in Tom.

When Tom got sick he was out for at least three weeks. He went around the second week after a church revival and saw that everyone, even Huck, had been changed. He got sick for another week and then came back to see that everyone, like him, had relapsed. It shows how easy it is to fall back into old habits. Like with Tom, he always tries to be better for his aunt, but never seems to be able to be good for very long.

On the day of Muff Potter’s trial Tom is very confused as to why his attorney is giving up so easily on his case. Tom, knowing that Potter is innocent, is concerned. This just goes to show how easily fooled we are, even with something this drastic. During the entirety of the trial Injun Joe eggs on the simple facts that make this case seem fool proof. We find out in a few sentences though that Tom already has it under control.

When this is stated everyone in the room goes quiet. I’m sure no one was expecting this, especially not Injun Joe. When Tom tells everyone his story, he makes sure that Muff Potter is safely cleared as innocent, and he is recognized as a hero once more. During the middle of Tom’s revelation, Injun Joe escapes through the window. If Tom hadn’t told someone, the ending to the whole book could have been different.

Widow Duglas doesn’t know it, but Huck was the one who alerted The Welshman about Injun Joe coming to attack her. Despite Huck’s reputation, she still helps him when he’s sick and has a small conversation with the Welshman saying how, no matter what you’ve done there’s still good in you. She sees through Huck and says that he is a good kid, and The Welshman knows that this is true. Later in the book Widow Douglas finds out that Huck was the one who had warned The Welshman. It shows in the story that behind Huck’s cool and ‘tough’ nature, he’s a just a sweet little boy who gets lonely.