tom sawyer notes

7/28/2019 Tom Sawyer Notes

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Lecture Notes

Twain – The Philosopher

humorist (uses humor), realist, cynic (uses writing to expose human selfishness and

false motives), satirist (uses sarcasm, irony, and wit to ridicule a habit, custom, and

ideas)

characters were often motivated by spite, self-importance, and greed

other characters (Huck and Jim) demonstrate how Twain was attuned to the caring

Twain’s attitude to society was a WARY one

1. detested the hypocrisy of the world

2. detested the insistence on the importance of conventional manners while

inner corruption was ignored

3. felt one’s conscience was more fit to decide how one should act

For Twain, the dictates of conscience took precedence over dictates of society(reflected in the way Tom ignores church/community expectations)

Twain’s view of society’s imperfections led him to glorify the individual who escapes

contamination of society

He saw the peak of NOBILITY in youth – Huck Finn is his ideal representative

(social outcast, smoked, drank, had his own set of standards)

Twain set out to undo model book boys

What Is Behind His Books?

1870s American literary style was shifting from romanticism to realism REALISM attempted to create believable characters with complete personalities

1. wrote about people from many walks of life and captured slang/dialect

people used (reminds adults about whom they once were)

examined current social problems – squarely faced them

romanticism was an escape from miseries of industrialization and urbanization

Twain was called the first American realist

Tom Sawyer displays this transition from romanticism to realism

1. Twain adds an element of romantic nostalgia

He also used exaggerated humor of the American frontier

Another tool used is satire – sometimes gentle and sometimes harsh

The Novel – On Many Levels

Level 1 – humorous and exciting children’s story – the hero and main characters are

children – adventures are those that children can relate to



Level 2 – nostalgic look at childhood in the preindustrial, pre-Civil War days of a

sleepy town on the Mississippi River

Level 3 – appeals to the social historian – the novel is a realistic record of the folklore,

superstitions, myths, beliefs, customs, and manners of 19th

century village America

Level 4 – gentile satire on the pride, pretense, and petty vanities of the adult world

and on the customs and institutions of America society

Finally…offers insight into the process of growing up

Voices in the Novel

Lyric (poetry)

Sardonic (humorous in a grim/sarcastic way)

Mix of elevated diction and vernacular expression (everyday speech)

3rd

person limited omniscient

Twain’s viewpoint is present, but the characters do their own talking

Literary Devices

Bildungsroman

Idyllic – a remembrance of simple, peaceful, and innocent country life

picaresque

satire

juxtaposition- Tom’s relationship with the adults

Introducing the Novel

Mark Twain as did most Americans felt a longing for a simpler time

Fictional town of St. Petersburg is drawn from memory of boyhood in Hannibal,

Missouri

1. St. Petersburg tends the gates of heaven

Mark Twain did not remember only the pleasant parts of Hannibal

1. St. Petersburg is divided into strict social classes

Evil

1. wealthy and educated

2. penniless drunks3. enslaved African-Americans

4. homeless

One purpose was to make fun of model boy books

1. romanticizes childhood

Twain admires imagination



1. Novel features oddball characters, imagination adventures, vivid

colloquial/frontier speech (imagination is Tom Sawyer ’s greatest strength

Plotline

1; (Ch 1) Tom’s relationship with family, school, church

2; (Ch 3) Tom’s infatuation with Becky

3; (Ch 13-17) Tom, Huck, Joe Harper spend a week on Jackson Island

4: (Ch 9) Tom and Huck witness a murder; leads to trial in Ch 23

5; Search for Injun Joe, Tom and Huck ’s quest for treasure, Tom and Becky’s

adventure in a cave

Historical Happenings

Westward Expansion

1. change

2. Pushing back boundaries

3. great population growth Economic Depression

Revolt against Slavery

Communications expanded

1. Newly improvised postal service

2. Telegraph

Transportation Revolution

1. Establishment of railroads, canals, steamboats, steamships

Explosion of Irish and German immigrant population

1. Events created tension, but they also opened up new and exciting

opportunities

Basic Theme

Tom’s trip to maturity

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