The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer Thesis Essay

       In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer By Mark Twain Tom starts off as a mischievous young boy who has no regard for social norms and does whatever he pleases, however, as the book progresses Tom engages in more noble, mature acts which then puts restrictions and guidelines on his actions as a part of becoming an adult.
      Tom is first introduced hiding from his Aunt Polly to eat a sandwich filled with jam that she forbade him to eat, this is an example of his immature and childish nature. These characteristics are further emphasized when he distracts Polly upon being discovered so he could make a getaway to dodge his punishment. Aunt Polly expresses this by saying "Hang the boy, can't I never learn anything? Ain't he played me tricks enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time?'' (Page 4). Tom also portrays traits of wittiness when he slyly manipulates children passing by to paint his fence by giving the task a guise of importance and value by saying "...She's awfully particular about this fence; its got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain't one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand that can do it the way it's ought to be done." (Page 14)
        The first subtle signs of Tom maturing are shown when he is introduced to Becky. He is instantly enamored and goes out of his way to get her attention while still keeping most of his boyish mannerisms. "As he was passing by the house where Jeff Thatcher lived he saw a new girl in the garden- a lovely little blue-eyed creature with yellow hair plaited into two long tails, white summer frock, and embroidered pantalettes. The fresh crowned hero fell without firing a shot. A certain Amy Lawrence vanished out of his heart and left not even a memory of herself behind..." "He worshipped this new angel with furtive eye till he saw that she had discovered him;  then he pretended he did not know she was present, and began to "show off" in all sorts of absurd, boyish ways, in order to win her admiration."  (Page 18).
        Twain also hints at Tom's maturation when he nobly takes Becky's punishment in chapter twenty "Becky as passing by the desk, which stood near the door, she noticed that the key was in the lock! it was a precious moment. She glanced around, found that she as alone, and the next instant she had the book in her hands. The title page - Professor Somebody's Anatomy- Carried no information to her mind, so she began to turn the leaves. She came at once upon a handsomely engraved and colored frontispiece- a human figure, stark naked. At that moment a shadow fell on the page and Tom Sawyer stepped in at the door, and caught a glimpse of the picture. Becky snatched at the book to close it, and had the hard luck to tear the pictured plate half down the middle. She thrust the volume into the desk, turned the key, and burst out crying with shame and vexation..." (page 128) "...The master faced the school. Every eye sank under his gaze. There was that in it which smote even innocent with fear. There was silence while one might count to ten, the master as gathering his wrath. Then he spoke: "Who tore this book?" There was not a sound. One could have heard a pin drop. The stillness continued; the master searched face after face for signs of guilt..." "Rebecca Thatcher [Tom glanced at her face- it was white with terror]- Did you tear - no, look me in the face [ her hands rose in appeal ] - did you tear this book?" A thought shot like lightning through Tom's brain.  He sprang to his feet and shouted "I done it!" The school stared in perplexity at this incredible folly. Tom stood a moment, to gather his dismembered faculties; and when he stepped forward to go to his punishment the surprise, the gratitude, the adoration that shone upon him out of poor Becky's eyes seemed pay enough for a hundred floggings. Inspired by the splendor of his own act, he took without an outcry  the most merciless flaying that Mr. Dobbins had ever administered..." (Page 131).
        Finally at the end of the book Tom tries to coax Huck into behaving himself at a formal party. "Well I ain't used to that kind of crowd. I can't stand it. I ain't going down there Tom." "Oh bother! It ain't anything. I don't mind it a bit. I'll take care of  you," this is the point in the book where Tom begins his ultimate transformation into a young man that is becoming a part of society. Tom's decision to wear formal clothes to an event is a picture of setting aside his childish manners and acts as an example to Huck. This act shows maturity in the willingness to sacrifice and support for a friend.
       The examples that I've mentioned in my essay direct the reader to believe that Tom is a representation of a boys rite of passage into society. Toms unruly behavior with Aunt Polly was the status quo for Tom, it wasn't until he fell for Becky that he began taking steps towards manhood. The sacrifices he made for his friends Becky and Huck is the culmination of the mark of becoming an adult.  Tom started off as a selfish boy but by the end of the book he displayed his care for others.    

Resources

Clemens, Samuel (1981). The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer. New York: Bantam Books, Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

Cliff'sNotes.Com Book Summary Of 'The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer'. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Accessed December 17, 2017.

Short Story Compare And Contrast Essay

       I recently read three short stories for school and was directed to select two of them to compare and contrast. For this essay I chose The Machine That Won The War, by Issac Asimov and The Story Of An Hour, by Kate Chopin both of which display foreshadowing and various devices of irony. I will  provide examples from each of the stories to support my points.
       The Machine That Won The War is about the Multivac; a craftily designed machine that allegedly won a war against the opposing planet 'Deneb'. The Multivac was programmed to calculate fail-safe fighting tactics which are then forwarded to the General to follow through on the machine's  instructions. The Chief Programmer John Henderson would feed the machine information which would then be translated by Max Jablonsky the Chief Interpreter who would then send the completed instructions to Lamar Swift the Executive of Director of The Solar Federation. The Story Of an Hour is focused on Louise Mallard, a woman with a frail heart and her coping with her husbands' supposed death.
       As I've mentioned before, both writers incorporate irony into their stories, however, they use different types. Verbal irony which was depicted in The Machine That Won The War, is when what is said is contrary to reality or twisting the meaning of what you say and is closely related to sarcasm. On the other hand, The Story Of An Hour uses situational irony, which is the occurrence of an unexpected outcome to a situation or the opposite result of an assumption.
        In The Machine That Won The War verbal irony is used when Swift sarcastically admitted that he won the war, alluding to his method of decision making; a flip of a coin. He states, "Multivac is not the first computer, friends, nor the best-known, nor the one that can most efficiently lift the load of decision from the shoulders of the executive. A machine did win the war, John; at least a very simple computing device did; one that I used every time I had a particularly hard decision to make." The Story of An Hour uses situational irony by depicting the emotional roller coaster Louise experienced upon being informed that her husband had dies in an accident while he was in fact still alive, after she is shocked by the reality of the fact, she herself dies. 

       These two stories share a theme of misinformation, in The Machine That Won The War, the entire population of earth is led to believe that the war was won by the Multivac's calculations when in reality all the important decisions were decided by a simple man and the flip of a coin. in The Story Of An Hour poor Mrs. Louise is informed that her husband has perished in a terrible accident when outside of her knowledge he was alive and well.

        However, the outcomes of  the character being misinformed are very different, In The Machine That Won The War the blindness to the reality of the matter brought peace and hope to the minds of the population while Mrs. Louise, upon discovering she had been misinformed, was too overwhelmed with emotion causing her heart to fail her. 

         In conclusion these two stories have similar themes but very different situational outcomes. Only having partial knowledge of truth can be detrimental and each story showed the consequences of that. 

Immigration Paragraph

In 1903 a poem by the name of The New Colossus, by Emma Lazarus was inscribed on a plaque at the foot of The Statue Of Liberty. It reads “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, yearning to be free.” America accomplish this by giving immigrants opportunities in their times of need to start again, for example, the Irish suffered greatly during the great potato famine which led to migration by the millions to America.

The Gilded Age

   The period from the end of the Cvil War (1865) to the year 1900 has been give the name 'The Gilded Age', a phrase originally coined by Mark Twain, meaning an object covered in a thin layer of gold. Gilded can also apply to something that is attractive on the surface but has a deceptive underlying face. Historians granted this title to this time period due to the vast expansion and popularity of factories which produced astonishing amounts of varied products in record time as a result of the start of the industrial age. This rapid growth took on an appealing guise to the citizens of America and people of the world. The industrial boom was also the main motivation for immigration causing opportunists and those looking for a better way of living to pursue it. However, once they arrived on American soil they were met with discrimination, funneled into poorly built and over populated tenements, and overworked. For some, however, the willingness to work hard for a better life did afford them the opportunity to live the American dream. They also laid the ground work for the success of future generations.

Fredrick Taylor

What do you think of Fredrick Taylors ideas? I think his philosophy on efficiency in the work place is smart and should be considered by companies around the world, however, the individual workers should be taken into consideration while modeling an ideal work environment.

Top 10 Facts About: Harriet Tubman

1. Harriet Tubman was born 1819 or 1820 in Dorchester County Maryland

2. In the act of protecting another slave Harriet was struck in the head with an iron weight

3. Jobs: Abolitionist, humanitarian, union spy, scout, under ground railroad care taker

4. Married: John Tubman, a free black man

5. Helped Under Ground Railroad

6. Served the union as a nurse, cook, scout and spy

7. Gained freedom after escaping Philedelphia

8. Went to Auburn, New York

9. Settled there for some time

10. Died of pneumonia on march 10, 1913

Take A Step Back

    Every once in awhile it is good to take a step back and think, "What am I grateful for?" Things we label 'everyday items'  are commonly taken for granted or go unacknowledged. I am writing this article to take a moment to appreciate what I have.
      First, I'm grateful that I was raised into a family of believers and was taught the truth from the start rather than being born into a secular family and left to myself to accept God after years of being taught otherwise, because chances are I would have rejected him like most. My parents have taught from the Bible throughout my childhood which has given me a strong understanding of the subject while others may be born in to a Christian family but have strayed due to lack of conviction.
      I'm also fortunate for a nice neighborhood and house to live in. There are other neighborhoods that aren't nearly as safe or conveniently placed. My house/street is the crux of many fond childhood memories such as playing with neighbor kids at our annual potlucks.
     I'm appreciative of a proper education with a Christian basis via homeschooling, in which I avoid common core and public school drama. Along with the advantage of having a small classroom, I can get the help I need. I also happen to have multiple professional art tools at my disposal, a talented mentor to work under and encouraging class mates that support my work.
         Stopping to appreciate what you have gives you a different perspective on life.

I Thessalonians 5:18