Elements of Fiction :: essays research papers

Elements of FictionThe Adventures of tom turkey Sawyer and huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, is consider to be a mulct example of American Literature. The book raised a lot of controversy, it was publish after the Civil War, and it talked about the reality of America and its society. Some of the Themes of the story are, example and Social Maturation, Societys Hypocrisy, and freedom through social exclusion. At the opening of the novel, Tom is engaged in and is generally the organizer of childhood pranks and score games. As the novel progresses, these initially consequence-free childish games begin to take on more and more gravity. Tom begins to lead himself, Joe Harper, Huck, and, Becky Thatcher into increasingly dangerous situations. He likewise finds himself in predicaments where he must put his concern for others above his concern for himself, such as when he takes Beckys punishment and when he testifies at Injun Joes trial. As Tom begins to take initiative to help others instea d of himself, he shows his increasing maturity, competence, and moral integrity.Toms adventures to Jacksons Island and McDougals Cave take him away from society. These symbolic removals help to prepare him to turn in to the village in a new, more adult relationship to the community. Though early on Tom looks up to Huck as much honest-to-goodness and wiser, by the end of the novel Toms maturity has surpassed Hucks. Toms personal growth is evident in his insistence, in the face of Hucks desire to flee all social constraints, that Huck stay with the Widow Douglas and become civilized. Twain complicates Toms position on the border between childhood and adulthood by ridiculing and criticizing the values and practices of the adult world toward which Tom is heading. Twains harshest satire exposes the hypocrisy and often the essential childishness of social institutions such as school, church, and the law, as well as public opinion. He also mocks individuals, although when doing so he ten ds to be less biting and focuses on flaws of character that we understand to be universal.Twain shows that social authority does not always operate on wise, sound, or consistent principles and that institutions fall prey to the same kinds of mistakes that individuals do. In his depiction of families, Twain shows parental authority and constraint balanced by parental spot and indulgence. Though the Widow attempts to restrain and punish Tom, Aunt Polly always goes soft because of her love for her nephew.