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"The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer": Analysis Book Report

Adventures of Tom Sawyer - analysis Mark Twain's novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is a timeless masterpiece in the world of literature. Most readers are likely to identify with particular attitudes that the central character takes on throughout the book. Furthermore, it feels difficult not to sympathize with him when considering the numerous incidents he comes across. Even with the fact that the book appears to be directed at an underage audience, adults are also probable to appreciate the lessons it provides, considering the complexity of many of the messages it contains.

Twain was born in a typical American Unionist town during the early nineteenth century. His real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens and he was born on November 30, 1835 in an environment that shaped his understanding of the world and that ultimately influenced him to express interest in literature. His growing up in Hannibal, Missouri, played an essential role in inspiring him to consider the fictional town of St. Petersburg -- a location where the central characters of two of his most recognized writings, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" go through a series of events that change their perspective of the world. It is almost as if Twain wanted his readers to become better acquainted with the places that he grew up in, given that he takes them on a journey making it feel that they are actually present at the locations.

By considering the writer's life, one can observe how it's strongly connected to the novel. Twain intended to enable his readers to observe that success is a relative concept -- the central character is very much similar to him, as they both go through several difficult episodes in their lives and eventually manage to recover. "A

1) The writer struggled through life and encountered serious resistance before discovering his writing abilities. According to Oatman (1985, p. 1), he went as far as considering suicide as he thought about the bad luck he had. Even with this, he managed to center his attention toward writing and eventually became one of the best individuals in the field. It would be safe to say that things like this influenced Twain to write about a mischievous and yet kind-hearted child like Tom.
The nineteenth century was a critical century in U.S. history, as events like the last decades of slavery, the Civil War, and the reconstruction left their mark on individuals across the country. Many felt compelled to document these respective occurrences and Twain is a good example of a person providing the world with a more intimate perspective of the period. "The United States into which the novel appeared was a divided country, having just barely survived a barbarous Civil War between the North and the South over the question of slavery." (Durst Johnson & Elso Johnson 2002, p. 255)

The way Twain shows things like slavery and how people reacted to it is enough to influence anyone to harshly criticize the institution. With him being a realist, it would be safe to say that many elements in his writings were inspired from real life. Even with the fact that his works are obviously fiction, the way that he portrays characters and relationships between them make it possible for readers to get…

Sources used in this document:
Works cited:

Durst Johnson, C., & Johnson, V.E. (2002). The Social Impact of the Novel: A Reference Guide. Greenwood Publishing Group.

Lerner, L.M., & Overton, W.F. (2010). The Handbook of Life-Span Development, Cognition, Biology, and Methods. John Wiley & Sons.

Oatman, E.F. (1985). Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. Barron's Educational Series.

Twain, M. (2008). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. ILLUSTRATED.: Illustrated by True Williams (Mobi Classics). Plain Label Books.
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