The Innocence of Childhood

an essay response to the novel The Adevntures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain

You watch as the children tumble out of the schoolyard in one large mob, screaming, yelling, and waving their hands about. They rejoice to the start of summer vacation, and you can almost feel their excitement in the air. Their immaturity and innocence strikes you suddenly, for it has been a long time since you’ve seen others behave in such a way. Then you remember that children will be children, and they will remain young and innocent for many years before reaching maturity. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom and his friends continue to be innocent throughout the novel, never quite reaching experience. It takes a lot of responsibility and honor to grow up, neither of which Tom Sawyer ever quite has.

"Some people think they're smart - always showing off!" (pg. 86) As Tom continues through his blissful life of mischief and adventure, he playfully brags, boasts, and does ridiculous stunts like fence-jumping to try and get Becky Thatcher, the girl who he likes, as well as his other classmates to like and admire him. When he is rejected by them, he feels miserable and crestfallen. These behaviors are clearly examples of childish, immature behavior. Tom, like many other children in the world, believes that if you try to get attention, you will be rewarded and praised by those watching. The child will go to ridiculous measures to get that attention. It’s in a child’s nature to do so, and it’s very normal. It will not be until they are older and more mature will they know that showing off never gets you anywhere.

As well as his displays of showing off, Tom provides readers of the novel with plenty of foolish adventures. As showed in the pirate expedition in chapters 13-17, Tom rushes ahead into a plan without thinking of the consequences. When he goes out into the wilderness and drags his friends Huck and Joe with him, he is taking them away from their homes, and in Joe’s case, a family. While the boys are out having the time of their lives, the people that love and care about them are worried sick. Completely oblivious to what they’ve done, Tom and his friends continue with their “pirating”. If Tom had had more experience and consideration for others, he would never have gone on this ridiculous outing. He would know how much it would hurt the ones that would miss him.

With all of the attention seeking and misadventures, Tom is the perfect example of an innocent child. He lives in a perfect, untouchable world barely tainted by the evil that is Injun Joe. When a child is young, they seem unaware of the important things in life, and seek only to please themselves. As Tom learns by witnessing the murder of Dr. Robinson while he is sneaking around the graveyard, sometimes pleasing yourself comes with a consequence. Because of Tom and Huck’s graveyard adventure, the boys were constantly fearful that the murderer, Injun Joe, would come after them. Children of this world don’t think about what they’re doing until the weight of the consequence they will suffer comes crashing down on them. Tom is certainly no different.

Although Tom can be criticized and ridiculed for his mistakes, people have to remember that he is still innocent. It takes time for innocent behaviors to diminish and fade away into the certainties of experience. In the novel, Tom never reaches the level of maturity that most adults have. He still believes in superstitions, rumors, gossip, and fairytales. Tom just isn’t quite ready enough to handle the responsibility of experience. However, in time, Tom will realize that life isn’t just fun and games. This is when his true life will begin.

Friendship

A Responce to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Shading your eyes from the afternoon sun, you exit the school building. Your eyes instantly seek out your friends, for you can’t wait to tell them about your experiences of the day. You know that your friends will listen, that they’ll cheer you up when you mention your difficult math test, and that they’ll congratulate you on your perfect spelling homework without resentment. Friends are always there for you to confide and trust in, even when you’ve lost all hope in yourself. Friends will offer a new vision of the world and its problems, and will help you see through their eyes. No matter what kind of situation you get yourself into, friends will get you out.

What would happen if there wasn’t such thing as friendship? If there was no one in the world to relax around, feel secure around, and be yourself around? You would be swallowed up by the others around you, scared to expose yourself, scared to be who you truly are. The world would be weighing down upon you, and there would be nothing to do about it, nobody to listen and care. Eventually, friendless, you would be driven to the point of madness and destruction, and there would still be no one to help. Keeping your friends close to you so you won’t lose them is very important, and is a lifelong process throughout many sets of friends.

Luckily, in the romantic world of Tom Sawyer, friends are plentiful and easy to come by. In the novel, Tom has two good friends, Joe Harper and Huck Finn. They accompany him on his various adventures, no matter how ridiculous they are. Whenever Tom gets an idea, he goes immediately to his friends and shares it with them. This proves that even though Tom is innocent and mischievous, he understands the values and benefits of friendship. Without the company of Huck and Joe, Tom’s plans would certainly fail. Friends help you to succeed in your dreams, no matter how foolish they are.

However, you don’t need to have millions of friends to be happy. Sometimes, all you need is a best friend or two, as long as they’re people you really trust. Tom Sawyer didn’t have all the children in his school as his friends, but he continues to be blissfully happy with the friends he does have. As long as you keep your friends with you and treat them with love and respect, you can accomplish anything.