Rereading Tom Sawyer (3)

I finish TOM SAWYER.

I suppose there is not as much depth in TS as there is in the more famous HUCKLEBERRY FINN, yet I think there is much to talk about here.

The book is highly episodic, lacking in a strong narrative. This is one reason I've never been too terribly fond of Twain: he is not strong on plot and narrative. From what I can tell, Twain wrote this story as he went along without an overall plot or scheme in mind at the start. It's as if he's telling everything he remembers from his upbringing from Hannibal and then he's done.

We can question the character of Tom Sawyer. He is conceited and self-centered, but he has a strong conscience and eventually he seems to do the right thing. His Aunt Polly, who is too good to him for his own good, always forgives him. He seems to get away with all of his bad behavior.

It's a boy's story, of course, but I think it's more of an adult book, or maybe it can be read on different levels. Twain is critiquing his hometown, and Aunt Polly (perhaps a stand-in for his own mother) is the only person who comes out pure and wholesome.

A funny part is when Huck Finn rebels against the Widow Douglas trying to "sivilize" him---washing him, putting him in clean clothes, making him sleep in a bed, making him go to church.

"I can't stand it!" Huck cries to Tom. Huck had rather sleep with the hogs than in a clean bed.

You gotta love that Huck. I'm not sure how I feel about Tom Sawyer.