John Kielar

8th Grade English

Fenn School

Tom Sawyer Analysis

10/19/18

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

A literary analysis of Tom growing up 

Growing old is mandatory-growing up is optional-Chili Davis

    Growing up something nobody likes to do, but is something we all do. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Tom faces some natural, yet brutal experiences of growing up. He grows to a level to try to be closer to people that he wouldn’t want to be close with when he was younger. 

Metacognition

Good moods’re as fragile as eggs. Bad moods’re as fragile as bricks-David Mitchell

The chapters that we read this past week were ones of very different mood and character. From five to ten the mood and situation changed almost on each chapter. In the chapter where Tom talked to Becky I felt like Tom should’ve not spoken about the girl that he was “engaged” to; that’s talking to a girl 101. Also when he pinned her to the wall and kissed her that wouldn’t be allowed in this day in age. That would frowned upon by nearly everyone, and maybe considered assault. In the chapter where he pretends that he’s Robin Hood, I thought he lost his mind. At first he was talking about witches and their hexes, then becoming a pirate, then pretending to be Robin Hood. I was actually concerned for his mental health, especially since it was just after the whole Becky episode. Then the murder. This was a very quick and abrupt change of pace and tempo. That wasn’t something I was prepared for at all, and caught me off guard. Mark Twain describes it nearly perfectly and really gave an image, and emotion for all of the moments in the book so far. The big moment for me in this week’s reading was the one with Becky. That one probably stood out to me most because I can sort of relate to sort of situation. Where you like someone then you say the wrong thing, and then you’re out of the friendzone (which is extreme). Each one of these chapters is also like a puzzle, you have to figure out what each character is trying to say, and what it means in the grand scheme of the book/chapter. So far I’ve enjoyed reading this book, and I hope I will enjoy the rest of it.

Credit to Picture: Mentallyaware.org

Family

Family is not an important thing; it is everything- Micheal J. Fox 

Family is like a safety net, they are always there to catch you when you fall. They will encourage me to fly, but if I fall they’ll catch me. I was in my basement with the test that would decide my grade for the term, but there was a new game that had just come out on my PlayStation that I had been waiting for since the summer. Guess what I chose to do.

Reflection on similarities with Tom Sawyer

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. - Mark Twain

Tom Sawyer is a character who has some trouble with sticking to the rules. He tries to steal jam from his aunt, he plays hockey from school, and he gets in fights. While I don’t get in fist fights, I can be a little bit mischievous.