Tom Sawyer Essays - Picaresque Novels, English-language Films

Tom Sawyer Tom Sawyer is a boy who is full of adventures. In his world there is an adventure around every corner. Some of his adventures have lead him into some bad situations but with his good heart and bright mind he has gotten out of them. Tom lives with his aunt Polly, his cousin Mary and his bother Sid. One of the first things to happen in the book is a memorable one, the painting of the fence. Tom's aunt Polly made Tom paint her fence on a Saturday as a punishment. Tom just hated the idea of having to work on a Saturday while all of the neighborhood could make fun of and harass him. After Tom tried to trade some of his possessions for a few hours of freedom he had a stroke of genius, instead of him paying people to work for him, he made people pay him to paint. Tom managed this by telling people that it isn't every day that you get a chance to paint a fence and he thought it was fun. He had people begging him to paint by the time that he was finished his story. He would have taken every boy in the town's wealth if he had not run out of paint. On June 17th about the hour of midnight, Tom and his best friend Huck were out in the grave yard trying to get rid of warts, when they witnessed a murder by Injun Joe. At the time Muff Potter was drunk and asleep so Injun Joe blamed the murder him (Muff Potter). They knew if crazy Injun Joe found out they knew, he would for sure kill them. Tom wrote on a wooden board "Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer swear to keep mum about this and they wish they may drop down dead in their tracks if they ever tell and rot", then in their own blood they signed their initials TS and HF. A few days after that incident Tom, Huck and Joe decided to go and become pirates because no one cared for their company anymore. They stole some food and supplies and then they stole a raft and paddled to an island in the middle of the Mississippi River. They stayed and pirated for several days, then they all became so home sick that they could not bear it anymore. The next day Tom, Huck, and Joe showed up for their own funerals and there was much thanks and praise. The next big event in the town was the trial of Muff Potter for the murder in the graveyard. The whole town believed Injun Joe, and poor Muff was sent to a temporary jail cell for a week. At the end of the week he was to be hung unless some one in court had proved him innocent. While Muff was in jail temporarily he was not alone. Every day Tom and Huck would go and talk to him through the jail cell bars and on occasion bring him food. On the last day of court, to everyone's surprise they called Tom Sawyer to the stand. Then the man asked him where he was on the 17th of June he said "In the graveyard". Then when he asked who he saw do it he said with all his courage he said "Muff didn't do it. It was Injun Joe!" and with that Injun Joe jumped out the window and ran away. Tom and Huck decided that they wanted to become rich so they went to go and find buried treasure. Tom and Huck dug under trees all day and night but found nothing, then Tom said that they should go and dig for treasure in a haunted house. They went back two days later and went to a haunted house. Both the boys were scared but they both went inside anyway. The boys dared each other to go upstairs, so of course they went up and looked in closets for treasure but found nothing. Suddenly the boys heard two men talking and then come inside. Both of the boys got down on the floor and then they heard the voice again, it was Injun Joe. Injun Joe and the other man had a bag of money and decided to bury it there. Tom and Huck could hardly contain themselves because they would steal it as soon as Injun Joe left. Injun Joe was