Perhaps the best-loved nineteenth-century American novel,
Mark Twain’s tale of boyhood adventure overflows with
comedy, warmth, and slapstick energy. It brings to life an
array of irresistible characters—the awesomely
self-confident Tom, his best buddy Huck Finn, indulgent Aunt
Polly, and the lovely, beguiling Becky—as well as such
unforgettable incidents as whitewashing a fence, swearing an
oath in blood, and getting lost in a dark and labyrinthine
cave. Below Tom Sawyer’s sunny surface lurk hints of a
darker reality, of youthful innocence and naïveté
confronting the cruelty, hypocrisy, and foolishness of the
adult world—a theme that would become more pronounced in
Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Despite such
suggestions, Tom Sawyer remains Twain’s joyful ode to the
endless possibilities of childhood.
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