Key Facts
full title · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
author · Samuel Clemens, usually known by his pen name, Mark
Twain
type of work · Novel
genre · Concerned with Tom's personal growth and quest for
identity, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer incorporates
several different genres. It resembles a bildungsroman, a novel
that follows the development of a hero from childhood through adolescence
and into adulthood. The novel also resembles novels of the picaresque
genre, in that Tom moves from one adventurous episode to another. The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer also fits the genres of satire,
frontier literature, folk narrative, and comedy.
language · English
time and place written · 1874–1875;
Hartford, Connecticut
date of first publication · The novel appeared in England in June 1876,
and six months later in the United States.
narrator · An adult who views the adult world critically and looks
back on the sentiments and pastimes of childhood in a somewhat idealized
manner, with wit and also with nostalgia
point of view · The narrator narrates in the third person, with a special
insight into the workings of the boyish heart and mind.
tone · Satirical and nostalgic
tense · Past
setting (time) · Not specified, but probably around 1845
setting (place) · The fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri (which
resembles Twain's hometown of Hannibal)
protagonist · Tom Sawyer
major conflict · Tom and Huck perceive their biggest struggle to be
between themselves and Injun Joe, whose gold they want and whom they believe
is out to kill them. Conflict also exists between Tom and his imaginative
world and the expectations and rules of adult society.
rising action · Tom and Huck's witness of Dr. Robinson's murder; the
search for the boys' bodies in the river when they escape to Jackson's
Island; Tom's testimony at Muff Potter's trial; Tom and Huck's accidental
sighting of Injun Joe at the haunted house; Tom and Becky's entrapment
in the cave
climax · Huck overhears Injun Joe's plan to kill Widow Douglas,
and Tom encounters Injun Joe when he and Becky are stranded in the cave.
falling action · Huck gets help from the Welshman and drives Injun Joe
away from Widow Douglas; Tom avoids conflict with Injun Joe and navigates
himself and Becky out of the cave; Judge Thatcher seals off the
cave, causing Injun Joe to starve to death; Tom and Huck find Injun
Joe's treasure; Huck is adopted and civilized by Widow Douglas
themes · Moral and social maturation; society's hypocrisy; freedom through
social exclusion; superstition in an uncertain world
motifs · Crime; trading; the circus; showing off
symbols · The cave; the storm; the treasure; the village
foreshadowing · When he is frustrated by his fight with Becky, Tom
declares his intention to become a pirate, foreshadowing his later
excursion to Jackson's Island; Tom's great fear of Injun Joe foreshadows
his later encounters with him; Tom's obsession with the oath he
and Huck have taken never to speak about Dr. Robinson's murder foreshadows
the fact that Tom will later break the oath and testify at Muff
Potter's trial.
