The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing
up along the Mississippi River.
The story is set in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, inspired by Hannibal, Missouri,
where Twain lived.
Summary Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his
half-brother Sid.
Tom dirties his clothes in a fight and is made to whitewash the fence the next day as
punishment.
He cleverly persuades his friends to trade him small treasures for the privilege of doing
his work.
He then trades the treasures for Sunday School tickets which one normally receives for memorizing
verses, redeeming them for a Bible, much to the surprise and bewilderment of the superintendent
who thought "it was simply preposterous that this boy had warehoused two thousand sheaves
of Scriptural wisdom on his premises—a dozen would strain his capacity, without a doubt."
Tom falls in love with Becky Thatcher, a new girl in town, and persuades her to get "engaged"
by kissing him.
But their romance collapses when she learns Tom has been "engaged" previously to Amy Lawrence.
Shortly after Becky shuns him, he accompanies Huckleberry Finn to the graveyard at night,
where they witness the murder of Dr. Robinson.
Tom, Huck, and Joe Harper run away to an island.
While enjoying their newfound freedom, the boys become aware that the community is sounding
the river for their bodies.
Tom sneaks back home one night to observe the commotion.
After a brief moment of remorse at his loved ones' suffering, Tom is struck by the idea
of appearing at his own funeral.
Back in school, Tom gets himself back in Becky's favor after he nobly accepts the blame for
a book she has ripped.
Soon, Muff Potter's trial begins, in which Tom testifies against Injun Joe.
Potter is acquitted, but Injun Joe flees the courtroom through a window.
Tom then fears for his life as Injun Joe is at large and can easily find him.
Summer arrives, and Tom and Huck go hunting for buried treasure in a haunted house.
After venturing upstairs they hear a noise below.
Peering through holes in the floor, they see Injun Joe disguised as a deaf-mute Spaniard;
Injun Joe and his companion plan to bury some stolen treasure of their own.
From their hiding spot, Tom and Huck wriggle with delight at the prospect of digging it
up.
Huck begins to shadow Injun Joe nightly, watching for an opportunity to nab the gold.
Meanwhile, Tom goes on a picnic to McDougal's Cave with Becky and their classmates.
In his overconfidence, Tom strays off the marked paths with Becky and they get hopelessly
lost.
That night, Huck sees Injun Joe and his partner making off with a box.
He follows and overhears their plans to attack the Widow Douglas.
By running to fetch help, Huck prevents the crime and becomes an anonymous hero.
As Tom and Becky wander the extensive cave complex for the next few days, Tom one day
accidentally encounters Injun Joe, although the boy is not seen by his nemesis.
Eventually, he finds a way out, and the two children are joyfully welcomed back by their
community.
As a preventive measure, Judge Thatcher has McDougal's Cave sealed off, but this traps
Injun Joe inside.
When Tom hears of the sealing several days later and directs a posse to the cave, they
find the corpse of Joe just inside the sealed entrance, starved to death.
A week later, having deduced from Injun Joe's presence at McDougal's Cave that the villain
must have hidden the stolen gold inside, Tom takes Huck to the cave and they find the box
of gold, the proceeds of which are invested for them.
The Widow Douglas adopts Huck, and when Huck attempts to escape civilized life, Tom tricks
him into thinking that he can join Tom's robber band if he returns to the widow.
Reluctantly, Huck agrees and goes back to her.
Sequels and other works featuring Tom Sawyer Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Tom Sawyer Abroad Tom Sawyer, Detective
Tom Sawyer, the story's title character, also appears in two other uncompleted sequels:
Huck and Tom Among the Indians and Tom Sawyer's Conspiracy.
He is also a character in Twain's unfinished Schoolhouse Hill.
Adaptations and influences Film and Television
Tom Sawyer, directed by William Desmond Taylor, starring Jack Pickford as Tom
Tom Sawyer, directed by John Cromwell, starring Jackie Coogan as Tom
Tom Sawyer, Soviet Union version directed by Lazar Frenkel and Gleb Zatvornitsky
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Technicolor film by the Selznick Studio, starring Tommy
Kelly as Tom and directed by Norman Taurog; most notable is the cave sequence designed
by William Cameron Menzies "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", BBC television
series in 6 episodes starring Fred Smith as Tom and Janina Faye as Becky.
The series' theme song was "John Gilbert is the Boat", sung by Peggy Seeger
Les aventur Sawyer, French/German made-for-television miniseries directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner,
starring Roland Demongeot as Tom and Marc Di Napoli as Huck
Aventurile lui Tom Sawyer, Romanian movie directed by Mircea Albulescu.
The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a half-hour live-action/animated series produced
by Hanna-Barbera Productions Las Aventuras de Juliancito, Mexican film
Tom Sawyer, musical adaptation by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, with Johnny
Whitaker in the title role, Jeff East as Huck Finn, Jodie Foster as Becky Thatcher, and
Celeste Holm as Aunt Polly.
Tom Sawyer, TV movie version sponsored by Dr Pepper, starring Buddy Ebsen as Muff Potter
and filmed in Upper Canada Village Huckleberry Finn and His Friends, TV series
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Japanese anime TV series by Nippon Animation, part of the
World Masterpiece Theater, aired in the United States on HBO
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, 1981 Soviet Union version directed by
Stanislav Govorukhin Tom Sawyer, Canadian claymation version produced
by Hal Roach studios Tom and Huck, starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas
as Tom and Brad Renfro as Huck Finn Tom Sawyer, animated adaptation featuring
the characters as anthropomorphic animals with an all-star voice cast, including country
singers Rhett Akins, Mark Wills, Lee Ann Womack, Waylon Jennings, and Hank Williams Jr. as
well as Betty White Theatrical
In 1956, We're From Missouri, a musical adaptation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, with book,
music and lyrics by Tom Boyd, was presented by the students at the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama.
In 1960, Tom Boyd's musical version was presented professionally at Theatre Royal Stratford
East in London, England, and in 1961 toured provincial theatres in England.
In 2001, the musical The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Ken Ludwig and Don Schlitz, debuted
on Broadway.
Ballet "Tom Sawyer: A Ballet in Three Acts" premiered
on October 14, 2011 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri.
The score was by composer Maury Yeston, with choreography by William Whitener, artistic
director of the Kansas City Ballet.
A review in The New York Times observed: "It’s quite likely that this is the first all-new,
entirely American three-act ballet: it is based on an American literary classic, has
an original score by an American composer and was given its premiere by an American
choreographer and company.
... Both the score and the choreography are energetic, robust, warm, deliberately naïve,
in ways right for Twain."
Internet On November 30, 2011, to celebrate Twain’s
176th birthday, the Google Doodle was a scene from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Inspiration According to an October 2012 article published
in Smithsonian magazine, Twain named his fictional character after a San Francisco fireman whom
he met in June 1863.
The real Tom Sawyer was a local hero, famous for rescuing 90 passengers after a shipwreck.
The two remained friendly during Twain's three-year stay in San Francisco, often drinking and
gambling together.
See also Mark Twain bibliography
The Story of a Bad Boy References
External links The Adventures of Tom Sawyer at Project Gutenberg
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 135th Anniversary Edition, University of California Press, 2010.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Digitized copy of the first American edition from Internet Archive.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with embedded audio
Free audio book at LibriVox Twain, Mark, 1835-1910.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Free eBook in HTML format at the Electronic Text Center,
University of Virginia Library.
First edition illustrations by True Williams