I am reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain and one point of interest I currently have is about Tom’s wit. Tom seems to be very smart as he is able to trick all of the boys in town into paying to do his work for him, and he cashes in his earned money to win an award he never should have been able to win. I am interested in analyzing how Tom develops as a character from being the troublesome little boy he is now into hopefully becoming a more mature man that is responsible and hardworking. One quote that I think emphasizes Tom’s wit is when Tom discovers, “He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it–namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. (Twain 13)” Although this quote is from early on in the book, it perfectly exemplifies how Tom is able to use his intelligence to weasel his way out of working hard.

 

One disagreement I have with the book so far is directed at the pace of the book. I feel as if the plot moves so slowly, and should start to quicken anytime soon. So far I haven’t seen many major conflicts between Tom Sawyer and a character yet, but looking at his troublesome personality it wouldn’t be surprising if he fights someone.