Running through the playground with friends screaming with joy as the sun above spills onto your face ... playing tag on a hot summer's day in your best friend's backyard barefoot, loving the way the small blades of grass cushion each step you take ... pretending to be asleep so your parents won't know your still up, hiding under the covers in a small cave of sheets, illumnitated by the flashlight you hold up to the book in your hands ... these are all things that every child can relate to, most of all, Tom Sawyer. This novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, was written all about Tom and his innocence, and how he never becomes mature in this romantic world he lives in. Most people in this world want to stay a child, innocent and carefree, for the rest of their life; all people have to realize at one point in their life that the human race is built around posterity, and that all people must face the world, become an adult. Tom is not able to realize this in his romantic world, built only for him and the reader to escape into.
All children dream of getting to trick their parents or elders into believing something only a fool would believe, and any time this chance presents itself, they spring at it. Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, wrote Tom's life out to be the perfect life of any young boy, including himself. Clemens had a rough childhood, growing up being the sixth of seven children and a father that would not tolerate failure, even though he was one himself. The book does not mention Tom having a fatherly figure, showing that Clemens wanted Tom to be free; he wanted Tom to have a life with no pressure to be a success, along with a loving aunt like his mother had been. Tom springs at all oppurtunities everyday in his life that offer him a gleam of self triumph in the form of juvenile behavior, leaping right over the gap of manhood and continuing down the same path of innocence.
When The Adventures of Tom Sawyer begins, Tom is a little boy who just can't keep himself out of trouble. His first act includes inveigling his aunt, shouting for her to look in a direction, then bolting out the door and into the sun. This young boy enjoys finding fun and laughter in all aspects of life, always the one to start a riot of some sort. All Tom's friends are of the same ignorance as him, as he is too childish to bond with any kids mature or behaved. Tom looks for things to keep him entertained and feeds off of the way the children his age view him: brave, cunning, and ambidextrous. As the novel goes on, Tom begins to venture farther and farther into his world of enchantment, leading to many enexpecteded turns in his tale.
Becky appears in the picture, a white haired "goddess" of which he seeks romance. Tom wastes no time to plant himself in her heart, displaying boy-like behavior in front of her house, hoping that her blue eyes will catch a glimpse. His faith leaps when she tosses him a flower over the fence, and Tom becomes compassionate towards her; the only way he is mature in the novel. The girl Tom is in love with has a family that is very well off, and quite respected and admirable in social aspect; Samuel Clemens marries a woman in New York who is high on the social ladder and has a rich background. Clemens portrays Tom almost as himself, reflecting Tom as a younger and quite immature version. Samuel Clemens tries to capture a realistic aspect of his life and bring it into the book, a tiny rememberance that finding true love even in a world where things aren't perfect is possible.
In the last chapter of the romantic novel, Tom convinces Huck that he must stay at the widow's in order for him to become part of his gang, for only educated peoples can join. This shows how much innocence Tom has, and will forever hold on to in this dreamy world of St. Petersburg; the fictional re-creation of Sameul Clemens' childhood town, Hannibal. The whole story takes place in a city that Clemens created based off the town he grew up in, and all of his experiences as he matured, unlike Tom.
In this novel, Clemens does not age Tom, representing that he had to grow up early, due to his father's passing when he was only twelve. Tom's laidback lifestyle comes from Clemens' dreams of being a regular boy, instead of having to work as an apprentice printer after his father's death, to support his family. Clemens wrote this book as a gateway to a childhood he never had -- a wonderful world where your imagination is reality, and you never have to grow up.
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