For Discussion or Writing. 1. Compare and contrast the development of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in their novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

1. Compare and contrast the development of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in their novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Pay particular attention to the way each novel ends.

2. Tom Sawyer has two alliances, one with Huck Finn and another with Becky Thatcher. How does each alliance draw out different strengths and weaknesses in Tom’s character? How does Twain use setting to help develop his characters and track their growth during the course of the novel?

3. Despite the novel’s relatively happy ending, Twain includes portrayals of society’s less than positive elements. Drunkenness, stealing, lying, among other negative characteristics, are all portrayed openly. How do such elements shape the development of the narrative? Do they make Twain’s novel more or less realistic?

4. Although the novel focuses on a child’s perspective of the world, the adults of St. Petersburg are still a pervasive presence in the novel. Judge Thatcher, Aunt Polly, the Widow Douglas, and even Injun Joe are all integral to its development. Choose one of the adult characters and trace his or her impact on Tom, Huck, or Becky’s development.

5. Twain’s novels often included specially selected illustrations. For the American edition of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Twain used illustrations by True W. Williams. Compare and contrast Williams’s illustrations to Twain’s prose. Does Williams capture the essential elements of Tom Sawyer’s adventure? What would a reader miss if he or she only saw the illustrations and did not read the prose?

6. Louis B. Salomon’s introduction to the Great Illustrated Classics edition of Tom Sawyer claims that “the reader of this novel will find himself transported to the almost amoral world of the child, where the only questions the protagonists have to answer for themselves are What and How, the Why is left to the unfathomable discretion of grown-ups who have somehow lost the secret of having a good time anyhow.” Is such a claim an accurate overview of the novel? Refer to specific scenes to support your position.

7. Critics have argued whether Tom Sawyer is a child’s story, an adolescent novel of growing maturity, or a tale meant for adults. How can each group of critics be right? What evidence is provided in Twain’s prose to support all three readings simultaneously? Which do you think is right? Why?

8. Twain intended to recreate the novel as a play. Choose an important scene from the novel and develop it into a theatrical scene, including stage directions and dialogue, to highlight its role in the development of the novel’s central theme.