Sunday, December 1, 2013

Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain


When I first read “Tom Sawyer”, I was captivated by the setting almost as much I was by the story itself.  Rural Missouri must have been an awesome place for Tom Sawyer to grow up!  It seemed like there was more than enough opportunity for adventure in this small town, with all the open land and hidden caves.  Living along the Mississippi River would definitely allow a boy to explore to his heart’s content.

Tom Sawyer and his best friend, Huckleberry Finn, are definitely not the most well-behaved boys in town!  They’re the type of kids who would sneak off to a graveyard at midnight, which is where their adventure actually begins.  These two friends stumble into a gang of graverobbers, and secretly witness a murder!  From there, the boys become wrapped up in the manhunt for an outlaw named Injun Joe, and the search for his secret buried treasure.

As much as I enjoy the excellent books that are being written today, not many of them have the main characters involved in dangerous situations like these.  I guess that people today might think that a story that involves a murder or a manhunt wouldn’t be appropriate for kids?  In my opinion, things like this are essential to a good adventure story.  If Tom Sawyer wasn’t in any kind of real danger, do you think that you would care as much about him?

“Tom Sawyer” is one of those classic books that everyone should read, and it definitely gets my highest recommendation.  It really made me think back to my own hometown, and the small adventures that I had there when I was growing up.  Take a second to think about your own home.  Has anything ever happened to you there that you might consider to be an adventure?


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