Mark Twain is a world wide known author. He has various books to his credit, the most being Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. The first time i read Tom Sawyer, I had won a Weekly Quiz in my grade, and as a prize, i was give the book. Then it was in extra large print with various pictures that enlightened my imagination. Now i have a completely different reason for reading the novel, but today too i cannot help enjoying the adventures of Tom Sawyer as if they were my own.

Tom Sawyer, to sum it up, is a spoilt child, who lives with his Aunt Polly and slave/ servant Sid. Tom knows his Aunt’s weaknesses and he tries every possible way he can to get out of mischief. Like a lot of 10-12 year old children, Tom too is curious, lazy, and he would do anything too just get out of work. He finds a new love interest in the new  girl Betty, whose heart he breaks by revealing his previous mischiefs. He gets out of punishments easily too, the most memorable being the fact that he is able to get out of  white washing the fence by telling the other boys it is a privilege his Aunty has trusted him with, and he would only lend them this honor if they gave him some of their treasures in return. Treasures including from apples, to small pieces of junk. All the boys take part in this ‘priviledge’ giving Tom everything they have, and with this they give him a perfect thrice- coated, whitewashed fence. A result that leads to him getting further appreciation from his Aunty.

But this does not keep Tom out of mischief, and just like any other child, Tom too dreams about running away from home. Running away to find a world full of fantasies, running away to teach all the people ho got him in trouble/ told on him/ and yelled at him a lesson, and running away because no really loved him, not even Aunt Polly, the reason she punished him, and now that he was gone they would all suffer. On this journey, Tom takes along his friends Joe, who recently fought with his mother and Huckleberry Finn, an outcast from society. The boys steal a boat and set out in the river, for an adventure away from home. They plan to be pirates dress in riches and conquer the world. Are the boys able to complete their fantasy? How long do they stay away from home? How do they survive? Do they ever go back? Can they get away from the evils of the world? All these questions keeps the reader stuck to the book, making it an absolutely marvelous story.

I feel every child can relate to this story, because everyone some or the other time has been in trouble, felt that no one loved them, and felt like punishing their parents for punishing them. Had we been as wild as Tom Sawyer we would easily had his journey, but nothing is lost as we see a glimpse of that world, through The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Harsimran Minhas

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