The Coming Of Age In Mark Twain’s “The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer”

Mark Twain describes the childhood of Tom, a young child. He lives under the strict rule of Aunt Polly. She punishes Tom when he does something he shouldn’t. Tom steals, even though he has no idea that it’s wrong. He knows how to behave because his parents are also very religious. Tom does not like church. The sermons bore him. After some time adulthood takes over and he begins to relax and stop doing things he once did. Tom is maturing and realizing new things. The new Tom, who obeys, stops stealing and is not lazy, is a much better Tom. Mark Twain describes the growing up of a typical American boy through The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

Tom Sawyer shows us how rebellious some children are. Tom steals jam from the pantry in the first chapter of the novel when Aunt Polly discovers him. He tricks Aunt Polly into turning away before she can punish him. When she does, he jumps over the fence to escape punishment. Tom’s aunt Polly questions him because she believes he was not at school. But she has no idea that Tom is actually stealing sugar as she is questioning him. Sid, Tom’s brother, finds him stealing from the cupboard and reports him. Tom runs out of the house quickly to escape punishment. Tom saw this boy walking around the street and he was so upset that he decided to argue with him. They then started fighting about nothing. He snuck into the house after he broke the window with a rock. Some children’s attitudes change if they attend church or are influenced by a role-model. Tom attends Sunday School and church, but he finds it boring and does not listen to Mr. Walters.

Aunt Polly disciplines disobedient and rebellious children in her story. In the story, she punished him for bad behavior by having him do housework or other chores. Tom had stolen jam when she first tried to punish him. But he tricked the woman into not punishing him. She uses other punishments to punish him instead of a beating. Tom stole sugar from the dinner table, but left before he was punished. When he returned to the house to steal back in, Aunt Polly instructed him to wash the fence. Aunt Polly beat Tom even though Sid had not stolen the sugar. Tom was very hurt when he was made to take the blame for something that he had not done. She didn’t even apologize when she discovered that Sid was the culprit. Tom is very upset and wonders if she would say or do anything to him in the event that he died. Tom replies “How would she throw herself at him? Her tears would fall down like rain. And her lips would ask God to grant her her boy. She would never, not abuse him anymore”! She began to be less strict with him after a time. She starts to see that her treatment of him was not right. Aunt Polly tells me, “He was not bad. To say it simply, micheevous. Harum scarum and only a bit giddy. He wasn’t more responsible than any colt. He was a good boy who never intended to harm anyone. She thought it was cool, but was also disappointed that he didn’t tell her it was only for fun. Aunt Polly became angry when Joe Harper informed his mom of Tom’s secret. Tom may have said that he does not believe they know but Aunt Polly would not be able to trust him, even when he claimed otherwise.

Tom grows up at the end. He isn’t the same as the boy who started the novel. He may still be a childish boy and play a lot, but he has changed his ways for the better. Tom the boy who didn’t do his chores and stole things was gone. Tom the adult was back. Tom was a mature adult when he visited Aunt Polly, and he considered leaving her a letter to let her now that he’s okay. He didn’t do this. Tom stopped stealing, because he felt compelled to steal at first. He had, for example, stolen jam and sugar from the pantry. On his pirate expedition with his friends, he stole a lot of different things. Tom’s friends and he had each stolen boiled hams and trifles as well a skillet and half cured tobacco when they first met. Even a raft was stolen to help them reach the destination they were destined for. Before they went to bed, they prayed. They were afraid that lightning might strike them due to all their bad actions. In their prayers, they promised not to steal ever again as pirates. They knew it was wrong and that they did not have the authority in the bible to do so. Tom stopped his stealing habits because the pirates promised never to do it again. After a long period of not stealing, it was likely that Tom would stop stealing. After he witnessed Dr. Robinson’s murder, he started maturing into an adult. Tom was put in a situation he didn’t understand as a child, but now he does. When he matured, all his lies stopped working. He could no longer keep the truth from the Widow. He was no longer thinking of himself. Now, he only did what he thought was right.

Tom is a great example to people who start out rough, but then begin to see things differently. Some kids might be “bad”, yet all they need is a little help to make their life better or someone to step in and teach them things that others could not. Tom’s Aunt Polly was unable to teach him to become mature and make adult decisions when he became older. Tom first had to find himself in a situation where he would have to take adult decisions. It is not always the right thing to do to punish a child for doing something wrong. This can lead to kids such as Tom wondering how their parents would react if they died or fled. Take the time to sit down with your children and discuss why they’re acting in a certain way. Tom was shown to steal everything that he could. In the end, it was that adventure which changed Tom’s mind. He never stole again. You can never underestimate the importance of second chances. You can never be sure that they will not change.