synopsis of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer By: Mark Twain Chapter 1: Tom Plays, Fights, and Hides The chapter opens with Aunt Polly searching everywhere for Tom Sawyer, a boy who is about 10 years old and the son of her dead sister; but Tom is nowhere to be seen. ... It is Tom, who has been hiding in the closet in order to secretly eat jam. ... As she turns around, Tom escapes from her grasp and is quickly out of the house. Tom has a wonderful time skipping school, while playing with friends and swimming in the river. ... At supper, his aunt cleverly tries to question him as to what he did throughout the day, but Tom answers her questions, without being trapped. Tom’s playing hooky would have escaped discovery and punishment if his half brother Sid had remained quiet; but Sid drew Aunt Polly’s attention to the fact that Toms shirt collar was stitched by her in white thread, and now, it is stitched in black. Before his aunt can react, Tom is out of the house while shouting a warning to Sid about interfering. Once outside, the whistling Tom forgets all his troubles and is happily skipping to meet his friends. ... Tom dislikes the newcomer and they quickly get into a fist-fight. ... Tom emerges the winner, chases the new boy home, and waits for him to emerge again so that they can have a second round of fighting. The cowardly boy teases and makes faces at Tom from the security of his home, but fails to come out again. Tom finally goes home late and enters through the window, only to discover that Aunt Polly is waiting for him to show up. Chapter 2: The Glorious Whitewasher For his previous days escapades, Aunt Polly decides to punish Tom. On a glorious summer Saturday, Tom appears outside with a bucket of whitewash and a long-handled brush. ... The thought of having to work when everybody else is having a wonderful time makes Tom sad, as if his whole world has come to an end. ... Tom calls out to him and tries to trade places with him, although he has always thought that fetching water from the pump was the cruelest chore in the world. ... Tom tries to convince him, and almost succeeds until Aunt Polly appears on the scene and Jim takes to his heels. Ben Rogers, a friend of Tom, skips by while eating an apple. Pretending to be the skipper of the Big Missouri, Ben stops right in front of Tom; but Tom feigns to be engrossed in his work, surveying it critically. Ben waits for Tom to acknowledge his presence, which he finally does, with a look of surprise on his face. When Ben teases Tom about his work, Tom retorts by saying that one does not get to paint a fence everyday. Soon Ben is begging Tom to let him try his hand at it. Tom is thrilled at this turn of events, but cleverly tells his friend he is having too much fun to share. Ben then offers to trade his apple for a chance to do some whitewashing, and Tom, with an outward show of reluctance, gives up the brush. ... The boys troop in one after another to make fun of Tom and end up parting with their treasure and whitewashing the fence. Tom has a wonderful, idle time while the fence gets three coats of paint. Chapter 3: Busy at love and war Tom goes to his aunt with the news that he has finished whitewashing the fence. Aunt Polly does not believe Tom and goes out to inspect it herself. She is surprised when she sees that it is not only whitewashed, but recoated, and gives Tom permission to go and play. Tom runs out towards the village square, where the boys meet for games of combat. Tom serves as the general of one of the armies, and his best friend, Joe Harper, of the other. ... Triumphant, Tom turns homeward. ... Tom instantly forgets he is in love with Amy Lawrence, falls in love with blonde beauty, and tries to catch her attention by showing off. ... An overjoyed Tom picks up the flower, places it close to his heart, and lingers nearby. Tom finally goes home in high spirits, and his aunt is not able to comprehend the reason behind it. ... Tom is thrilled because he is about to see Sid punished. His Aunt comes out, takes a look at the broken sugar bowl, and strikes Tom! Tom protests, but his aunt pretends to be unmoved even though her conscience pricks her. ... In his mind, he pictures his Aunt bending over him and begging for forgiveness Chapter 4: Showing off in Sunday School Tom has to memorize verses from the Bible and recite them in Sunday school, a task for which he shows little inclination. ... The clever Tom begins trading his "wealth," collected from the whitewashing incident, for various tickets; he is very successful in the effort. ... Walters, the Sunday school Superintendent, introduces the congregation to the newly arrived Judge Thatcher, his wife, and daughter Becky, the girl whom Tom had met and fallen in love with the previous day. ... To everyones astonishment, Tom triumphantly produces the required number of yellow tickets and walks away with the much sought after Bible. Tom becomes a hero in the eyes of all those present, even Becky. Tom is personally introduced to Judge Thatcher, but he is so nervous that he does not utter a word. ... Tom, nervous and unsure of himself, musters up enough courage to answer that they were David and Goliath! ... Tom sits through this torture. ... Suddenly, Tom remembers that he has a pinch bug, commonly known as a beetle, in his pocket. ... When it pinches him, Tom is so surprised that he lets it escape from his grip. ... On the way home, Tom thinks that church is not so bad after all; he is also glad that he has been instrumental in relieving the boredom of some of the members of the congregation. ... Chapter 6: Tom Meets Becky Monday makes Tom very miserable, for he must go back to school. ... Tom tries to think of an excuse to stay home. ... Tom remembers that he has a sore toe and eagerly inspects it. ... When Sid continues to sleep, Tom finally shakes him awake and returns to his groaning. Sid, hearing Tom, says he is going to call Aunt Polly. Tom holds him back and pretends as if he is on his deathbed. ... Even as Tom is talking to him, Sid dresses and goes to call his aunt. She hurries up the stairs and asks Tom what is the matter with him. Tom replies that his toe is mortified. ... Then Tom tells her about his loose front tooth. ... Tom begs her to stop, but Aunt Polly does not listen. ... On the way to school, Tom is the envy of his friends because he can now spit better because of his missing front tooth. Before arriving at school, Tom sees Huckleberry Finn, the village vagabond and son of the town drunk; he is disliked by every mother in town because he is a homeless boy and "lawless, vulgar, and bad". ... Tom has been forbidden by Aunt Polly to play with Huck; but Tom ignores his aunt’s warnings and joins Huck at every opportunity. On the way to school this Monday morning, Tom greets Huck and asks him what he is holding in his hands. ... Tom says that spunk water is a better cure for warts, but Huck does not agree. He tells Tom that if they take the dead cat and go to the graveyard at midnight, the devil will come. ... Tom, engrossed by this prospect, agrees to meet Huck this very night and go to the graveyard. Tom then trades his front tooth for Huck’s tick and then sets off for school, which has already begun by now. The schoolmaster asks for an explanation for his late arrival, and Tom, eyeing an empty seat next to Becky, confesses that he has stopped to speak with Huck. ... Her curiosity gets the best of her, and she begs to see what Tom has written. Tom acts reluctant, but soon shows her the drawing of a house. ... Tom chivalrously offers to teach her. ... Becky promptly wants to know what Tom has written. Tom again acts reluctant at first, but gradually relents. ... The teacher, noticing Tom’s distraction, comes down the aisle, lifts Tom up by his ear, and puts him back in his regular seat. Tom tries very hard to concentrate on school work, but he can only think of Becky. ... Chapter 7: Tick running and Heart Breaking Tom, back in his usual seat in class, cannot concentrate for thinking about Becky. ... His friend Joe Harper, who is sitting next to him, joins Tom in tormenting the tick. ... Joe breaks the rules of the game, and Tom starts an argument with him. ... Tom rushes out of class to find Becky. ... During the lesson, Tom loses interest in the art. ... When Becky hesitates, Tom declares that he is in love with her and an engagement is proper. ... Tom, however, bungles things when he lets it slip that he has been in love with Amy Lawrence before. ... Tom catches up and tries to pacify her, saying that Amy was in the past and that he now cares only for her. When she refuses to listen to him, Tom takes out one of his most treasured possessions - a brass knob - and gives it to her. She throws it on the floor, an action that disgusts Tom. ... Becky feels lonely and sad for the rest of the day, wishing she could make up with Tom. Chapter 8: A Pirate Bold to Be Depressed about Becky’s rejection of him, Tom goes to the nearby woods. ... Idly, Tom starts digging the earth with his knife to find the marble he has recently buried. ... Tom extracts toy weapons from their hiding place, and they pretend to be Robin Hood and Guy of Guisborne. Tom is almost on the point of being beaten when he tells Joe that according to the books, Robin Hood always wins. ... Chapter 9: Tragedy in the Graveyard In the evening, Tom and Sid are sent to bed as usual, but Tom is restless and cannot sleep. ... When Tom finally hears Huck’s "meow," he stealthily goes out of the house. ... Tom and Huck, hidden from view, have witnessed the entire proceedings. ... To seal their oath of secrecy, Tom writes a beautiful pledge of silence, and both the boys sign it with their blood. ... Soon after this, Tom and Huck go their separate ways. When Tom returns home, he is delighted that he has left home and returned without detection. ... When he goes down to breakfast, Tom is given the silent treatment, for Sid had discovered him missing during the night and told Aunt Polly. After Breakfast, Tom is taken aside by his aunt. ... Tom is affected by her tears and asks for her forgiveness; he also promises her that he will change and make everything up to her. When Tom departs for school, he is feeling miserable. ... Upon his arrival, Tom is whipped by the teacher for having skipped school the afternoon before. ... Chapter 11: Conscience Racks Tom Around noon, the whole town is agog with the news of Dr. ... Tom, putting his misery aside and overcome with curiosity, also goes to the cemetery. On the way, Tom meets Huck but studiously looks away. ... Tom spies Injun Joe in the crowd and is scared. ... A dumbfounded Tom and Huck listen to Injun Joe’s lies, when he narrates the sequence of events leading to the murder. ... Huck and Tom decide to observe Joe closely whenever they have an opportunity to see if they can see the devil with him. Tom is quite bothered by the murder and Injun Joe’s lies. ... Sid remarks that Tom’s talking in his sleep is keeping him awake. Tom, fearful that he is talking about the murder, becomes as white as a sheet. Aunt Polly notices his reaction and starts questioning him, but Tom says nothing. Sid tells Aunt Polly that Tom has been mentioning something about blood in his sleep. Aunt Polly says that all the talk about the murder has obviously left a deep impression on Tom’s mind. ... From that night onwards, Tom ties up his jaws at bedtime, saying that he has a toothache. Sid, however, would slip the bandage off and listen to Tom’s murmuring in his sleep. Sid also notices that Tom’s behavior has changed. ... Chapter 12: The Cat and the Painkiller Tom is temporarily distracted from his troubles when Becky stops coming to school. ... An experimenter at heart, Polly tries all sorts of remedies on Tom in an effort to cure him, but nothing seems to work. ... When she tries this on Tom, he just becomes more sad and melancholic. Tom is so forlorn that he does not even protest against the torture that he is being put through; his silence bothers his aunt even more. She decides that Tom’s indifference must definitely be broken. ... Tom has decided that he has indulged himself enough and will endure no more. He pretends to like the horrible painkiller that tastes like fire water, and asks his aunt for a dose so frequently that she tells Tom to take it for himself. ... Tom takes a spoonful of the painkiller and gives it to the cat. ... When she comes to question Tom about the cat, she finds him rolling in laughter. ... She pulls Tom up by his ear and asks him why he gave the painkiller to the cat. Tom replies that he gave it to the cat out of pity, for he himself had been receiving all of Aunt Polly’s attention, while the cat was being ignored. She pats Tom on the head and tells him that she did whatever she thought was best for him. Tom goes to school early in hopes that Becky may return. ... Tom runs out of the classroom to go and meet her and is laughing and shouting as he reaches her side. ... Then Tom literally throws himself at her feet, almost toppling her. She turns her nose up in the air, snorts, and goes her way, leaving Tom looking sheepishly after her. Chapter 13: The Pirate Crew set sail An upset Tom decides to leave home. ... Joe confesses that he is feeling the same way as Tom and asks to join him.