Cleverness with words 
The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend. - Abraham Lincoln

    Savvy and clever words often help to get out of tough situations.  In the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, Tom gets out of trouble or work, for Tom is astute in these situations by using his cleverness with words. In chapters 1-10, Tom can get out of most situations. Tom may be young, but he has great deal of knowledge and is able to fool people no matter their age with his cleverness.

Thoughts and recurring themes

“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why” -Mark Twain

There are some important themes in the first ten chapters of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, most of which focus on the power of words and how Tom uses them to manipulate people.  One theme is that the boys in the town are always trying to impress each other and “one-up” each other and they often do this by lying or saying stupid things.  For example, when Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are talking about different ways to remove warts and many illogical remedies, they are trying to sound smart and look cool to each other.  Another theme throughout the opening chapters is that Tom is not the best at staying focused or working hard, but he does work hard at tricking people to do his hard work for him.  He works very hard at finding a way to get out doing things he doesn’t want to do.  For example, in the beginning of the book when he is told to whitewash a fence by his aunt, Tom persuades every boy that walked by to do his work for him in exchange for one of their small gifts.  Not only did Tom get out of his work, but he also gained much “wealth” from the boys who had to pay for the privilege of doing Tom’s work for him.  Another common theme is that Tom is very good at using his words to trick people and to get himself out of trouble in almost any situation.  For example, with his aunt, Tom was very close to getting away with skipping school and would have talked his way out of it until Sid ratted him out.  Tom’s nosy sibling, Sid, noticed the mis-colored thread on his button, which was the only reason Tom didn’t get away with playing hooky.  Tom had used his language effectively to get out of the situation but he was brought back in by Sid.  These themes of using language and words to show off, trick people into doing your hard work for you, and to get out of trouble are often seen in the opening chapters of the book and help to show the type of person Tom is.  

Emotional support from your loved ones

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” —Jane Howard

Often times family members are those who help you through struggles. I often lean on my family in times of need and when I am not getting as much support from others.       

The little rebel in us all

“Why are the people rebellious? Because the rulers interfere too much. Therefore they are rebellious.” - Laozi

I think we all have a little bit of Tom Sawyer in us. Whether it be we get into trouble often or we like talking smack to other people or even just as simple as we run our mouth sometimes, I still think everyone can be a Tom Sawyer sometimes.