What is Mark Twain's real name? "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain When was Tom Sawyer born?

Chapter III. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Stories V.I. Lenin has a wonderful description of slavery, which grew on “free” American soil in the second half of the 19th century: “They refer to the fact that there is democracy in America, that there is a White House there. I say: overthrow slavery

Mark Twain smiles The cover of his very first book was decorated with a huge bright yellow frog, standing out sharply against the faded, light cream background of the binding. Such frogs do not exist in nature. But Twain wrote about a truly extraordinary frog. About this frog

Thomas "Tom" Sawyer gets into various troubles every now and then. Going in search of the treasure, Tom sees with his own eyes how a murder is committed. He subsequently helps the authorities expose the criminal. He runs away from home and lives on a desert island. He "walks" at his own funeral. For three days and three nights, a hungry Sawyer wanders around the cave and finds a way out only thanks to his inexhaustible optimism...

Sawyer is the main character in Mark Twain's 1876 novel "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". Sawyer also appears in three other Twain novels: "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884), "Tom Sawyer Abroad" (1894), and "Tom Sawyer the Detective" ( "Tom Sawyer, Detective") 1896.

Sawyer appears in at least three of Twain's unfinished works: Huck and Tom Among the Indians, Schoolhouse Hill, and The Tom Sawyer Conspiracy. "Tom Sawyer's Conspiracy"). All three of these works were published after the writer's death, but only in "The Tom Sawyer Conspiracy" is the plot set out in full. Sawyer renounced the other two books, writing only a couple of chapters for each of them.

The literary character probably got his name in honor of the real-life Tom Sawyer, a cheerful and prominent fireman whom Twain met in San Francisco, California, where the writer worked as a reporter for the San Francisco Call newspaper. Twain listened to Fireman Sawyer's funny stories about his youth with great interest and from time to time wrote something down in his notebook. Sawyer stated that one day Twain came up to him and said that he was going to tell about Sawyer's days in his book. The fireman agreed, but only on the condition that his name would not be sullied on the pages of the novel.

Twain admitted that he created the image of the character by putting together the characters of three people. The other two were John B. Briggs, who died in 1907, and William Bowen, who died in 1893. Twain chose himself as the third real image. Then, even later, the writer changed his “testimony” and claimed that Tom Sawyer was completely a figment of his imagination. In response to this attack, Robert Graysmith argued that Twain, the great appropriator, simply liked to pretend that his characters sprang entirely from his fertile imagination.

Be that as it may, on the pages of the novels Tom appears as a boy full of energy and wit, just beginning to walk the path of adolescence. The enterprising Sawyer was left an orphan and is being raised by Aunt Polly, a stern and prim Christian. Polly, the sister of Tom's late mother, studied the Holy Scriptures, in which she discovered that not punishing a child and “sparing the rod” means deliberately spoiling his character. Tom's aunt also raised his half-brother Sid and cousin Mary. Pretending to be a good boy, Sid is ready to denounce Tom at any opportunity, while Mary is distinguished by kindness and patience. Nothing is mentioned about Sawyer's father. However, Tom has another aunt, Sally Phelps, who lives in Pikesville.

From Twain's novels it turns out that Sawyer's best friends are Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the writer reveals that Tom is passionately in love with his classmate Rebecca "Becky" Thatcher. Twain endows his hero, a carefree boy with freckles and his pants hanging around his waist, with a penchant for adventure and adventurousness. Sawyer, like most tomboys, doesn’t want to fail at school, but craves romance - he craves to show the reader how wonderful childhood was in the mid-19th century.

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“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” in which the main characters take place during the American Civil War, is perhaps the story with which readers associate the author’s name. Mark Twain, like John Tolkien, wrote several works united by one theme. Tom Sawyer is the central character of a number of books: “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, “Tom Sawyer Abroad”, “Tom Sawyer - Detective”. The same character appears on the pages of the book about Huckleberry Finn.

Let's talk about the plot of the book

The place where the main characters of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer live was invented by the writer. This is an imaginary town under the strange and funny name of St. Petersburg. The name is funny because the town is located in the state of Missouri, in America.

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The plot centers on the life and adventures of a boy named Tom Sawyer. The young man is approximately 12 years old and is being raised by his aunt. The reader is informed that Tom's mother has died. The time period covered by the events of the book is several months. Despite such a short period of time, the main character manages to gain a varied and rich experience: the boy falls in love, watches the commission of a crime, assists in revealing the identity of the criminal... Tom also runs away from his aunt’s house, dreaming of living a pirate life on the island, but during his wanderings the boy gets lost and ends up in a cave. After emerging from the cave trap, Tom Sawyer shows that he is blessed with luck, because the boy finds the treasure - just like a pirate. Tom shares the found treasures with his faithful friend and comrade, Huckleberry Finn.

Genre of Mark Twain's work

The writer's book "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", whose central characters constantly find themselves in various troubles, belongs to adventure literature. The work is intended for a children's audience: indeed, probably every child's parents or grandparents gave this book to read in childhood.

The adventure genre took shape in literature at the end of the 19th century, and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was written by the author in 1876. Romanticism and neo-romanticism are two movements that influenced the development of this genre. The goal is the desire to escape from reality, a unique form of escapism.

The idea of ​​an adventure tale (in this case we are talking about a fairy tale) is to entertain the reader. Of course, the book is replete with a significant number of episodes that teach children what good and bad deeds, true friendship, love, danger and loyalty are.

Key characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer

The reader can easily guess from the title of the book who the main character and central character of the work are. Tom Sawyer is a twelve-year-old boy who lives in his aunt's house. The aunt is the sister of the young man’s mother, who has already died.

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Tom cannot be called a well-mannered and obedient boy: he is a cocky young man who constantly gets into trouble. Tom is a naughty boy, and pranks are a common way of life for a boy. The hero is curious and inquisitive. These traits lead Tom to adventures: the young man loves to “poke his nose into other people’s affairs” and learn what “you don’t need to know.” The boy's adventures often turn into troubles and dangerous situations.

Meanwhile, Sawyer has many positive traits: a heightened sense of justice, kindness and honesty, and responsiveness. Tom shows himself to be a devoted and generous friend, a reliable and generous comrade, a noble "pirate", a prudent gentleman.

The events of Mark Twain's work unfold against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Since the author talks about Americans, the main character of the book shows a typical American trait - a desire for entrepreneurship and the ability to get out of any situation.

In the first chapter of the book, the writer gives an extensive description of the hero: Tom shows cunning and wit, he is a rogue and a lazy person, however, he is also adventurous and savvy. Sawyer is an avid reader. Most of the books the boy reads also belong to the adventure genre.

The author frees the reader from the need to come up with a portrait of the hero: the writer talks about the boy’s appearance. Tom is a short young man with blue eyes and brown, curly hair. There is a scattering of freckles on the boy's nose.

Huckleberry

Bosom friend of the main character. In the book, Tom and Huck (as he is sometimes called in the work) Finn is constantly together. The boys help those who need help and oppose the atrocities of other characters. The guys' lives are full of adventures and changes, both are restless and curious.

Huck has a father, who, however, does not participate in his son's life. In essence, the hero leads a homeless life, the boy is left in his own care. Therefore, Huck is used to taking care of himself; the young man shows unconventional thinking and has an extraordinary mind. Huck, older than Tom, often acts as a ringleader and entertainer, showing a practical attitude to life and business.

Huck is a wise, experienced boy; life has taught Huck to be pragmatic and reasonable. The hero is distinguished by independence. Despite this, the boy still likes to play pranks - just like his friend Tom. Huck doesn't go to classes, parents have a negative attitude towards their children's friendship with Huck. In the end, the young man’s father leaves for a better world and Huck is left alone: ​​the boy has no other relatives.

These are the central characters of the book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, but there are also minor figures.

Polly

Tom Sawyer's aunt. After the death of her sister, Polly took her son in to raise her. The aunt loves her nephew like a son. Polly wants to give Tom a good upbringing so that he grows up to be a respected and worthy man.

Tom is a naughty man and an entertainer, so his aunt is often strict with him, showing demands and toughness. Polly eradicates Tom's laziness, teaches him to love work, to be a decent and honest boy.

Aunt has such qualities as kindness, wisdom, and therefore Polly manages to form positive character traits in Tom: responsiveness and generosity, sympathy, devotion...

Sid

Aunt Polly's son, Tom's cousin. Sid is the opposite of the main character. Tom is not friends with his cousin; the boys often compete and conflict. Sid cannot be described as a positive character: the young man lies, misbehaves and puts the burden of responsibility on others. Sid can easily lie and commit meanness.

Sid's appearance matches the character's nature. The hair is slicked down and the clothes are unnaturally clean. Sid is used to, as they say, “raking in the heat with someone else’s hands.” A cheat, a hypocrite, a cunning, vindictive egoist and a liar, Sid often denounces his brother.

Jim

A dark-skinned guy whom the writer describes as a comrade and ally of the main character. Among the other key characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Jim is perhaps the most interesting figure. The slave, Jim, however, thinks a lot about the nature of freedom. This is relevant, because the Civil War revolved around the issue of slavery in America.

Tom treats Jim as an equal. Jim is distinguished by his superstitiousness and simplicity, honesty, naivety and openness. These traits are the reason for frequent jokes about Tom's character. But the jokes are light and good-natured: Tom has no intention of offending his friend. Jim calls Tom "mass", that is, "master".

Joe

Injun Joe appears before the reader's eyes in the chapter "Murder in the Cemetery." Joe is a negative hero, an antagonist. Tom witnesses Joe committing a crime - murder.

As befits a negative, evil character, Joe is distinguished by his ferocity and vindictiveness. The hero embodies everything that is associated with evil: cruelty, meanness, betrayal, composure, inhumanity. Joe thinks about revenge, wanting to kill every person who has ever done him wrong or interfered.

The reader says goodbye to the hero in the chapter “The Death of Injun Joe.” The death of a criminal is worthless and pathetic. Joe dies painfully when the cave rubble literally buries the killer alive.

Becky

Tom falls in love with a well-bred girl named Becky Thatcher. The girl comes from a judge's family. Since childhood, Becky has been pampered and indulged in every whim. The book describes a situation that clearly outlines the degree of spoilage of “sweetheart” Tom: one day, having learned that Tom was once in love with someone else, Becky quarrels with her lover.

Becky worries about the ruined book, pleasantly surprised at how noble and brave Tom can be, since the boy admitted himself to be guilty of it. The girl perceives Sawyer as a spontaneous, daring boy. These traits cause Becky's sympathy for Tom.

Becky is characterized by emotionality and impressionability. Tom takes care of his beloved and helps the girl. Trapped in the cave, Tom finds a way out and gives Becky food.

Rebecca has the appearance of a typical beauty: golden curls, blue eyes.

In addition, Tom also has a cousin, Mary, as well as his main school friend, Joe Harper.

Mark Twain(1835-1910),

Mark Twain is an American writer whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He spent his childhood in the small town of Hannibal on the Mississippi River.
"Mark Twain" is an old term for American rivermen ( “measure-two”, “mark-two”), which meant a depth sufficient for ships to pass through. So Mark Twain’s literary pseudonym was given to him by the river on which he spent days as a boy.

Many real events from childhood also passed from childhood memories to the pages of Mark Twain’s works. In the preface to the story of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain wrote: “Most of the adventures described in this book happened in reality: two or three happened to me, the rest - to my school friends.”

Under the name of Tom Sawyer, three inseparable friends are described at once, constant participants in games of pirates and “noble” robbers:
. the young mischief maker Sam Clemens himself (it was he who gave the cat medicine, it was he who brought home snakes and bats, filling his pockets with them to the great horror of his mother);
. Sam's schoolmate Willie Bowen;
. great prankster and daredevil Thomas Sawyer Spivey.

The character of Becky Thacher is based on Laura Hawkins, who lived next door to Sam.

Huck Fin is an accurate portrait of Tom Blenkenship. He lived in a dilapidated shack on the outskirts of the city, often went hungry, walked in rags and sometimes slept in the open air. But he liked it: he despised “vile and stuffy houses.”

Tom's younger brother, the quiet and sneaky Sid, is Henry, the younger brother of Samuel Clemens. He never caused any trouble to adults, unlike the inexhaustible prankster Sam.

Strict Aunt Polly is based on Mark Twain's mother, Olivia Clemens.

In Hannibal, it seems, nothing has changed since then. There are no skyscrapers or high-rise buildings here.

Tourists are shown the places where events from Mark Twain's novels took place: the two-story house where the Clemens family lived, the legendary fence that the cunning Tom had to paint, Dr. Grant's pharmacy - in difficult times for the family, the Clemens lived with him and the writer's father died here.

The shack of drunken parent Huck Finn did not survive; it was demolished in the 40s of the last century. However, in its place there is a memorial plaque.

The most beautiful house on Hill Street belongs to Judge Hawkins, Laura's father.
By the way, Mark Twain had a happy marriage with Livey Langdon, the only woman in his life, but he maintained friendly relations with Laura until his death. After her marriage, she left for another city, but, having become a widow, she returned to Hannibal, where she worked with orphans.

Mark Twain lived a great, colorful life. He traveled all over the world. He worked as a pilot's assistant, a newspaperman, and tried his hand - not very successfully - in the entrepreneurial field.

World fame came to him in the field of literature. He became the most famous American of his time. Tourists came to America to see Niagara Falls and... Mark Twain.

And, despite his sharp tongue, even his enemies respected him. When Twain passed away, his close friend Wilbur Nesbitt said at the funeral: “The only sorrow that Mark Twain caused the world was that he died.”

“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is a novel that can be called autobiographical, since it is based on the childhood of Mark Twain himself. The work took quite a long time to write: the first part was written in the winter of 1872, the second part in the spring of 1875 and the final part in the summer of the same year.

Thanks to simple language, a lot of funny stories and humor, the novel is of interest to both children and adults. The author seems to remind adult readers of childhood.

The narrative in the novel proceeds sequentially, without parallel plot lines. The work is distinguished by a large number of events, so it can be classified as an adventure novel; Moreover, the entire course of action revolves around one main character - Tom Sawyer.

All events in the novel occur with its main character; it is impossible to imagine it without Tom Sawyer, who stands out for his intelligence, recklessness and humor. Tom is a character who can solve any problem; nothing is impossible for him. He treats difficulties as a challenge to himself and immediately wants to cope with everything. The hero is an optimist by nature, despite all the troubles that happened to him.

The characters in the novel are not described in detail. The author mainly focuses from the very beginning of the book on describing events, and their participants are revealed with each action - each new event, adventure and dialogue shows us new characteristics of the heroes, flaws or advantages.

Genre: adventure novel

Time: mid 19th century

Location: St. Petersburg

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer retelling

The action of the work takes place in the mid-19th century in the small town of St. Petersburg. The main character is Tom Sawyer, who lives with his aunt Polly and younger brother Sid.

This is a boy who loves games and practical jokes, which we see from the very first chapters of the novel. The writer tells how Tom hid in the food pantry and ate jam, despite his aunt's ban on doing so. Tom cleverly gets out of this situation by running away to swim instead of going to school.

The next day, his aunt punishes him by making him paint the fence. But Tom can't just obey her. He convinces his friend that painting a fence is a lot of fun, so he even pays Tom to paint it himself. Aunt is delighted with the work done, allowing Tom to play and treating him to an apple.

Tom is playing with his friend Joe Harper when he sees a beautiful girl named Becky Thatcher and falls in love with her at first sight.

On Sunday Tom has to go to church in a nice suit and boots. He doesn't like the way he looks and feels uncomfortable in such clothes. At the entrance to the church, people receive tickets based on their knowledge of the Bible. Tom exchanges his earned money and receives a Bible for it.

Tom has to go to school on Monday, but he doesn't want to do it, so he pretends to be sick. His aunt exposes him and forces him to go to school. Along the way, he meets the son of a drunkard, who is wasting his time aimlessly because he doesn't have to go to school. His name is Huckleberry Finn. They agree to meet at the cemetery at night.

Tom is late for school because of a conversation with Huck. The teacher decides to punish him by making him sit with the girl. Tom is happy because it turns out to be Becky. He confesses his feelings to her and asks her to marry him. The girl agrees, but later, having learned that Tom is already engaged to another girl, she refuses him in tears.

At night, Tom and Huck go to the cemetery. They could not even imagine that they would see a real murder there. The guys witness a fight between a drunken Muff Potter, Injun Joe and Dr. Robinson. Injun Joe stabs the doctor with a knife, the boys run away in fear, promising each other that they will never tell anyone about this.

The news of the murder spreads instantly. The knife with which it was committed belonged to Potter, thereby becoming the main suspect. But the real killer, Injun Joe, doesn't even try to help him. He convinces Potter that he is a murderer in order to remove suspicion from himself. Tom finds no place for himself; he is tormented by nightmares from what he saw.

Tom faces many problems: he is at war with his aunt, he is sad that Becky has turned her back on him, and in the end he decides to run away from home. On the way, he meets Joe Harper, who also decides to run away with him towards adventure. Huck joins them. They steal a raft and take it from St. Petersburg to Jackson Island.

Although life on the island seemed ideal, and the guys did not want to return home, they were overcome by longing for the old days. Tom convinces his friends to stay on the island. They find out that their family is looking for them. Tom feels sorry for Aunt Polly and decides to sneak a message to her saying that he is fine while the others are sleeping. During a secret break into the house, he sees his aunt in the company of Joe's mother, his cousin Mary and Sid. They plan Tom's funeral, which forces him to change his plans.

Returning to his friends, Tom tells them our new plan. They spend their days playing games, and Huck even learns to smoke. After all this, they become weak and fall ill. There is a storm on the island, and the guys have to look for shelter.

Tom's plan was to show up unexpectedly at his own funeral and startle everyone present. The guys succeeded brilliantly, which made their relatives incredibly happy.

Joe and Tom turn into real heroes when they return to school. They tell everyone about their adventures, while also smoking. The only problem is Tom's reconciliation with Becky. He succeeds when he accomplishes a feat and takes the blame for the torn page of the book onto himself, although Becky accidentally tore it.

Soon the school year is coming to an end and exams begin. Tom fails them because he doesn't like to study. The holidays come and Becky leaves town. Tom understands that it will be boring, and in addition he gets sick.

Potter's trial begins, and Tom feels guilty. He decides to appear in the courtroom and reveal that the real killer is Injun Joe. He then runs away from the hall.

Tom and Huck decide to look for treasure in an old house. There they discover Injun Joe and his partner with the treasure they just found there. The boys decide to follow them.

Becky soon returns to town. A trip is organized for all children to McDougal's Cave. There Tom and Becky get lost, everyone starts searching for them.

Meanwhile, Huck tracks down Injun Joe and learns that he wants to attack the Widow Douglas. Huck decides to go to her and tell her everything. The widow escapes, but the Indian escapes again, and his partner drowns in the river.

At this time, Becky and Tom became completely lost in the cave. Tom decides to continue looking for a way out alone because the girl was too exhausted. On the way, he encounters Injun Joe. He runs away again, but Tom finds a way out of the cave.

When the locals have already said goodbye to Tom and Becky, they return alive and well.

Judge Thatcher orders the cave to be closed to prevent a similar situation from happening in the future. At that moment, Injun Joe was there and found himself locked up. He is dying of hunger.

Tom and Huck enter the cave and find the gold that was hidden there. Boys become rich, but wealth means nothing to them. Huck began a new life with the widow Douglas. For the boys, the ideal life consisted of adventures that they looked forward to.

Heroes: Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Aunt Polly, Becky Thatcher, Joe Harper, Sid, Mary, Math Potter, Dr. Robinson, Widow Douglas.

Character Analysis

Tom Sawyer- the main character of the novel. A daring and reckless boy. Always ready for new adventures, constantly coming up with different entertainment. This is the reason why he constantly gets into trouble, but he doesn't mind it thanks to his enormous optimism. Despite the fact that the boy sometimes does stupid things, he is a smart, noble, positive character. His actions show that he can be responsible and mature when required.

Huckleberry Finn- The son of a local drunkard, which makes him unpopular with others. He doesn't go to school and wears cast-offs. Children love him for his free lifestyle. The hero is always ready for new adventures with Tom.

Aunt Polly– Tom’s good-natured aunt, looking after him. She is open and kind, but sometimes gets too carried away in her desire to teach him good manners. Despite this, the heroine loves her nephew.

Injun Joe-criminal and murderer. He is filled with hatred and is very dangerous for Tom and Huck.

Mark Twain biography

Mark Twain (1835-1910), whose real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an American writer and humorist, popular and beloved among readers of all ages.

The future writer did poorly at school, and as a result he was expelled at the age of 12. He tried many professions, ranging from a typewriter worker to a pilot on a ship on the Mississippi. Then Twain managed to work as a gold miner, journalist, publicist and, finally, became a writer.

He couldn't stay in one place for long, so he moved often. Thus began his career as a journalist.

After volunteering in the Civil War, he became a reporter under the name Mark Twain.

It is believed that Twain wrote his best works in the 1880s. Among them: “The Prince and the Pauper”, “Life on the Mississippi”, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and the sequel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”.

Twain was a funny man by nature; his most famous novels were humorous. He stood for freedom and universal equality of people. Without even a basic education, he depicted American life very well in his works.