Suggestions
Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.Please wait while we process your payment
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
If you don't see it, please check your spam folder. Sometimes it can end up there.
Please wait while we process your payment
By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy.
Don’t have an account? Subscribe now
Create Your Account
Sign up for your FREE 7-day trial
Already have an account? Log in
Your Email
Choose Your Plan
Individual
Group Discount
Save over 50% with a SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan!
Purchasing SparkNotes PLUS for a group?
Get Annual Plans at a discount when you buy 2 or more!
Price
$24.99 $18.74 /subscription + tax
Subtotal $37.48 + tax
Save 25% on 2-49 accounts
Save 30% on 50-99 accounts
Want 100 or more? Contact us for a customized plan.
Your Plan
Payment Details
Payment Summary
SparkNotes Plus
You'll be billed after your free trial ends.
7-Day Free Trial
Not Applicable
Renews December 10, 2023 December 3, 2023
Discounts (applied to next billing)
DUE NOW
US $0.00
SNPLUSROCKS20 | 20% Discount
This is not a valid promo code.
Discount Code (one code per order)
SparkNotes PLUS Annual Plan - Group Discount
Qty: 00
SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4.99/month or $24.99/year as selected above. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. TO CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION AND AVOID BEING CHARGED, YOU MUST CANCEL BEFORE THE END OF THE FREE TRIAL PERIOD. You may cancel your subscription on your Subscription and Billing page or contact Customer Support at custserv@bn.com. Your subscription will continue automatically once the free trial period is over. Free trial is available to new customers only.
Choose Your Plan
For the next 7 days, you'll have access to awesome PLUS stuff like AP English test prep, No Fear Shakespeare translations and audio, a note-taking tool, personalized dashboard, & much more!
You’ve successfully purchased a group discount. Your group members can use the joining link below to redeem their group membership. You'll also receive an email with the link.
Members will be prompted to log in or create an account to redeem their group membership.
Thanks for creating a SparkNotes account! Continue to start your free trial.
Please wait while we process your payment
Your PLUS subscription has expired
Please wait while we process your payment
Please wait while we process your payment
He worshiped this new angel with furtive eye, till he saw that she had discovered him; then he pretended he did not know she was present, and began to “show off” in all sorts of absurd boyish ways, in order to win her admiration. He kept up this grotesque foolishness for some time; but by and by, while he was in the midst of some dangerous gymnastic performances, he glanced aside and saw that the little girl was wending her way toward the house.
The narrator describes when Tom sees Becky Thatcher for the first time and expresses his infatuation with exuberance. Tom relies on age-old, “boy meets girl” flirting by pretending to ignore Becky while simultaneously doing his best to get her attention. Instead of just speaking to her to express his interest, he tries to draw her interest through gymnastic moves and stunts. This immature approach to a childish crush speaks to Tom’s youth and innocence.
While it lasted, he got them interested in a new device. This was to knock off being pirates, for a while, and be Indians for a change. They were attracted by this idea; so it was not long before they were stripped, and striped from head to heel with black mud, like so many zebras—all of them chiefs, of course—and then they went tearing through the woods to attack an English settlement.
The narrator’s description of Tom, Huck, and Joe’s childlike, imaginative games while camping on Jackson’s Island reveals the theme of youth and innocence. While the boys chose to run away from the village and initially celebrate their independence, after only a few days, they begin to feel homesick. To distract themselves from their longing for home, they turn to their youthful imaginations and jump into a make-believe world of Indians. Immersing themselves in this imaginary world with costume and play heals their aching hearts for a time.
So they played Robin Hood all the afternoon, now and then casting a yearning eye down upon the haunted house and passing a remark about the morrow’s prospects and possibilities there . . . On Saturday, shortly after noon, the boys were at the dead tree again. They had a smoke and a chat in the shade, and then dug a little in their last hole . . . and went away feeling that they had not trifled with fortune, but had fulfilled all the requirements that belong to the business of treasure hunting.
Tom and Huck’s adventures of treasure hunting and haunted houses, described here by the narrator as serious business, conveys the intensity of childhood. From their imaginative play of Robin Hood to their childlike belief in buried treasure, Tom and Huck exude a contagious youthful innocence and passion for life. While fully absorbed in playing and digging for treasure, their youthful curiosity takes in all their surroundings. A haunted house arouses their enthusiastic superstitions. They end the day content and fulfilled by their adventures as only the young unspoiled by cynicism can feel.
Please wait while we process your payment