/ / / Comparative characteristics Tom Sawyer and Sid Sawyer

In Mark Twain's story "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" the main character is a mischievous boy named Tom. He is raised in the family of his aunt named Polly. The hero has difficult character, loves to play pranks, so it causes a lot of trouble for the family. Tom has a brother, Sid, who is also being raised by Aunt Polly. By comparing these two heroes, you can better understand their images and the author's intentions.

– a naughty boy who doesn’t like school. However, he reads a lot and dreams of experiencing the same exciting adventures as the heroes of his favorite books. Therefore, instead of boring activities, he often spends time on the river. The author partly justifies this attitude of the hero towards school. After all, the education system at that time was built on rote learning and corporal punishment. And this in no way developed the free-thinking of students, but only taught them to mindlessly memorize and obey.

- an obedient boy who tries to do well at school because “that’s the way it should be.” He does not cause any trouble to his aunt, he always looks well-groomed, “sleek,” and behaves decently. However, his good behavior is false, because at the first opportunity he snitches on Tom. And not because he is worried about his brother, but because he is pleased to see how he is punished.

A striking example is in the episode when Sid notices Tom’s trick with threads (Aunt sewed up the collar of Tom’s shirt so that he would not swim in the river, but he decided to cheat - he took off his shirt and then sewed up the collar himself) and tells everything to Aunt. Sid betrays his brother in order to appear better compared to him. He is observant, which speaks volumes about his ingenuity. But overall, Sid acts like a traitor.

In contrast, Tom is loyal. He knows how to value friendship. And, despite the small tricks, he is not capable of a big lie, even for his own sake. This is confirmed in part of the story when he confesses in court to who the real criminal is. He and his friend Huck became accidental witnesses to the crime, but at first they remained silent because they were afraid of revenge. An innocent man, Math Potter, was accused of the crime. And the boys knew about it. They promised each other to remain silent, but pangs of conscience forced Tom Sawyer to speak at the trial and help the unfortunate man. It was very a brave deed, which the timid Sid could hardly decide on.

Tom and Sid are brothers. But they are too different people, as if from different worlds. Sid is a product of bourgeois society. From an early age he accepted the conventions of a conservative small town. Tom is also part of this society, but he is trying to defend his right to freedom. For the hero, such a life according to the rules does not seem interesting. Therefore, he dreams of adventure and makes his dream come true. Together with their friend Huck, they expose the criminal and find the treasure. Together with Becky (the girl Tom liked), the hero wanders around the cave.

Sid helps you see better positive features the character of the main character. The obedient boy Sid in the story is not as good as the naughty boy Tom. The author destroys the stereotypes of the bourgeois idea of moral values that time.

Mark Twain's work "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" describes the adventures of two friends, Tom and Huck. The boys cannot sit still, they are attracted by a thirst for adventure, the main characters of “Adventures” get into various troubles, participate in all the incidents that happen in their town. In the story, the heroes face different people, good and bad, but the heroes of the story always emerge victorious because they Good friends, and always help each other out. The book was published in 1876. The adventure tales of Mark Twain teach children what is reasonable, kind, and eternal.

Characteristics of the heroes of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”

Main characters

Tom Sawyer

A boy raised by his aunt. This is an inveterate tomboy and a prankster who cannot live a minute without pranks. His insatiable curiosity and habit of poking his nose wherever possible constantly leads Tom to all sorts of misadventures. At the same time, he is a noble and fair boy, sympathetic and kind. He is characterized by such qualities as generosity and nobility, generosity and prudence. Just like a true American, he has an entrepreneurial spirit.

Huckleberry Finn

Tom's inseparable friend. In "Adventures" the heroes participate in mischief together, help those in need, and fight against evil and injustice. Huck Finn, with his father still alive, grows up as a homeless child. This is a smart and practical boy, accustomed to taking care of himself. You can say that for your short life, he became a wise man, independent and pragmatic. Like all boys, Huck loves various pranks, so he, together with Tom Sawyer, form a single whole.

Minor characters

Aunt Polly	Tom's aunt, she's trying her best to raise her nephew worthy person. He is demanding and strict towards Tom, but loves him as own son. A kind and intelligent woman, thanks to her upbringing, the boy grows up responsive and compassionate towards people. From childhood, he accustoms Tom to work, takes care of his education, teaches him honesty and decency.
Jim	Negro Jim is considered a true friend for Tom, a faithful and devoted comrade. He is a slave, but Tom's attitude towards him is no different from his attitude towards free people. Jim is very superstitious and simple-minded, and Tom often takes advantage of this to kindly make fun of him, his jokes are kind and harmless, and if necessary, he is ready to fight for his friend through thick and thin. Jim is a simple and good-natured person, open and honest. He loves and respects “mass Tom” and obeys him unquestioningly.
Injun Joe	The most evil and vindictive character in the book. Ruthless and ferocious, Joe keeps the entire neighborhood in fear. This is a notorious scoundrel and a cold-blooded killer, a vile and cruel person. Insidious plans are brewing in his head to kill people who have ever crossed his path. Just like his worthless life, washed with the blood of innocent victims, so is his cruel and painful death. At the end of his life, Injun Joe found himself buried alive in a cave and died a brutal death, bringing relief to the residents of the town who were intimidated by his atrocities. Tom and Huck Finn were accidental witnesses to a murder committed by an Indian.
Becky Thatcher	Belongs to the family of a district judge. Capricious and spoiled, she makes a scandal for Tom after learning that his heart used to belong to another girl. She really likes this spontaneous and daring boy, ready for selfless acts. She worries too much about the damaged book, and is amazed at the courage and nobility of Tom, who takes her blame upon himself. Tom is looking for a way to escape from the cave, sharing food with Becky. Becky is an emotional and impressionable girl who becomes “the lady of his heart” for Tom.
Sid Sawyer	Tom's cousin, the complete opposite of him. Capable of petty mean acts, a sneak and an informer. Always happy to put my brother under attack, clean and sleek. A cunning and hypocritical rogue who skillfully knows how to shift his guilt onto Tom’s shoulders. Always tries to denigrate Tom in the eyes of his aunt. A selfish and vindictive character.

This a brief description of characters from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which can be used for a reader's diary.

Work test

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn- characters from Mark Twain's novel.

Living conditions of Tom and Huckleberry. (Both are orphans, but Tom’s life is taken care of by Aunt Polly, who loves her nephew in her own way, although among the two boys, Tom and Sid, she singles out the obedient but mean Sid. She tries to raise Tom with harsh methods, forces him to work, go to church and to school. Huck lives on his own and must take care of food and a roof over his head every day; he is more independent and serious than the mischievous Tom.)

Teaching Tom and Huck.(Tom studies in Sunday school, has to cram texts from the Bible. In addition, at home, Aunt Polly controls his behavior and demands that he do it correctly, in a Christian way. Huck does not study anywhere, any learning is painful for him. Therefore, life becomes a real school for Huck, in which Huck is taught by the people he met and the circumstances. This training is sometimes completely dangerous, and you can learn anything on the street. For example, life taught Huck to smoke, so the first joys of freedom for Tom turned out to be freedom - smoking, which made Tom feel very bad. )

Adventures as learning.(Both boys really appreciate free life, however, it brings dangerous adventures for both and only Mark Twain saves his heroes every time. IN real life The guys would have been injured at the first adventure, or even lost their lives).

Qualities of the characters of Tom and Huck.(Both are cheerful pranksters, but Huck is more experienced in everyday matters, he can survive in any situation, and Tom never knows where his new fantasies will lead. Huck is more independent than Tom, does not like to obey, to do what he does not want. Tom is a home child, he is trying to find a compromise with the adult world, to arrange everything so that everyone feels good. A clear confirmation of this is the incident with painting the fence.)

Why are Tom and Huck friends?

Both boys are from different social classes, so Aunt Polly does not allow Tom to be friends with Huck.

Tom Sawyer has more than enough energy. He always comes up with something interesting, his wit and enterprise seem genius for the age of twelve. Tom is an orphan, and Aunt Polly is raising the boy. She cannot be called evil, she is generally good and kind, but she is guided by the principle from the Bible, which talks about proper punishment for a child. Therefore, Aunt Polly considers it her duty to punish the pupil for the cause.

Although we are talking about the characterization of Tom Sawyer, it is worth mentioning that Siddy, a good boy and a terrible sneak, was raised by Aunt Polly. step-brother Tom Sawyer, and also lives with them a sweet and patient girl, Mary, who is Tom’s cousin. It is clear that Siddy is the opposite of Tom, they are so different in character and views on how to live. That's why Siddy likes to tell tales, and Tom is not averse to telling jokes.

What is told in the book about Tom Sawyer

For example, one day Tom accidentally acted as a witness to a murder and even managed to expose the criminal. Then he got engaged to a girl from his class, ran away from home in order to start living on a distant island where there was no one. Tom Sawyer attended his funeral, and one day he got lost in a cave, but was able to find his way out in time. He also found a treasure. All these adventures show the characteristics of Tom Sawyer.

If you look at the purpose of the book, you can see that the image of Tom Sawyer represents the carefree and wonderful childhood of the children in mid-19th century century.

A striking episode characterizing Tom

The characterization of Tom Sawyer is revealed very well at the very beginning of the story. Let's look at one episode from his life.

One day, instead of going to school, Tom decided to go for a swim. Aunt Polly found out about these pranks and roughly punished her pupil - Tom had to whitewash the long fence. But that's not so bad. I had to do the whitewashing in the middle of a Saturday - a day off! The guys were playing happily at this time, and Tom could already imagine how they would laugh at him, seeing their friend doing tedious work.

Tom Sawyer was not at a loss; he drew up a cunning plan. There were a lot of useful things in his pockets, for example, a dead rat with a string (for greater convenience, untwist it in the air) or a key that could not open anything. But is it really possible to buy at least a little freedom with these “jewels”? The boy Ben approached Tom, obviously with the intention of getting behind him. And then the characterization of Tom Sawyer was revealed in all its glory. What did Tom come up with?

Our sly guy told Ben that painting a fence is his favorite thing to do, and that's why he's happy to do it. Ben first began to tease, but Tom asked in surprise what kind of work Ben thought was good, and then announced to him that Aunt Polly barely agreed to entrust this responsibility for whitewashing the fence to Tom. Tom's idea and his plan turned out to be correct, because soon not only the rogue Ben, but also others begged Tom to let them work on the whitewash...

Tom made an important conclusion, and so did we: when work, even difficult and tedious work, is not paid, it becomes not work, but a hobby, and doing it is interesting. But as soon as they start paying for it, the hobby will turn into work, and this is already boring.

You learned what the characteristics of Tom Sawyer are, what kind of character he is and what we can learn from him. Be sure to read about his adventures.

"Adventures of Tom Sawyer" - wonderful book, magical, mysterious. It is beautiful primarily for its depth. Every person at any age can find something of their own in it: a child - a fascinating story, an adult - Mark Twain’s sparkling humor and memories of childhood. Main character the novel, during each reading of the work appears in a new light, i.e. The characterization of Tom Sawyer is always different, always fresh.

Tom Sawyer is an ordinary child

It is unlikely that Thomas Sawyer can be called a hooligan; rather, he is a mischief-maker. And, more importantly, he has the time and opportunity to do everything. He lives with his aunt, who, although she tries to keep him strict, is not very good at it. Yes, Tom is punished, but despite this, he lives quite well.

He is smart, resourceful, like almost every child of his age (about 11-12 years old), you just have to remember the story with the fence, when Tom convinced all the children in the area that work is a sacred right and privilege, and not a heavy burden.

This characterization of Tom Sawyer reveals that he is not a very bad person. Further, the personality of the most famous inventor and mischief-maker will be revealed with more and more new facets.

Friendship, love and nobility are not alien to Tom Sawyer

Another virtue of Sawyer - the ability to love and sacrifice - appears before the reader in all its glory when the boy discovers that he loves. For her sake, he even makes a sacrifice: he exposes his body to the blows of the teacher's rods for her misconduct. This is a wonderful characteristic of Tom Sawyer, which highlights his sublime attitude towards the lady of his heart.

Tom Sawyer has a conscience. He and Huck witnessed a murder, and even despite the not at all illusory danger to their lives, the boys decided to help the police and rescue poor Muff Potter from prison. The act on their part is not only noble, but also courageous.

Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as a confrontation between the world of childhood and the world of adulthood

Why is Tom like this? Because he's doing relatively well. Tom, although difficult, is a beloved child, and he knows it. Therefore, almost all the time he lives in the world of childhood, in the world of dreams and fantasies, only occasionally looking into reality. The characteristics of Tom Sawyer in this sense are no different from those of any other prosperous teenager. Such a conclusion can be made only if we correlate the two images - For Sawyer, fantasy is like the air he breathes. Tom is full of hope. There is almost no disappointment in him, so he believes in made-up worlds and made-up people.

Huck is completely different. He has a lot of problems, no parents. Or rather, there is an alcoholic father, but it would be better not to have him. Father for Huck is a source constant worry. His parent, of course, disappeared several years ago, but it is known for certain that he did not die, which means that he can appear in the city at any moment and begin to abuse his miserable son again.

For Huck, fantasies are opium, thanks to which life is still somehow bearable, but an adult cannot live in a world of illusions all the time (and Finn is exactly like that).

Sawyer is even a little sorry because he doesn’t know how things really are. His world manages without tragedy, while Huck's existence is a constant struggle. Just like an ordinary adult: he leaves the world of childhood and realizes that he has been deceived. Thus, another characterization of Tom Sawyer is ready.

What kind of adult would Tom be?

A tempting question for all those who have read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. But it seems that it is not for nothing that the story about the boys does not say anything about their adult lives. There may be at least two reasons for this: either there will be nothing remarkable in these lives, or for some, life will not present any pleasant surprises. And all this can happen.

What will Tom Sawyer be like? The characterization could be like this: in the future he is an ordinary, ordinary person without any special achievements in life. His childhood is full of various adventures, but by and large they always happened in some comfort zone, and this allowed Tom to constantly fabricate fantasies.

With Huck it's a different story. At the end of the adventures, Finn leaves the bourgeois world, where satiety and morality reign, into the world of the streets, where freedom reigns, in his opinion. The tramp boy does not tolerate boundaries. But it is impossible to live forever outside the framework and breathe only the air of freedom, because any life needs one form or another. If a separate vessel (person) is not limited, it will break out, destroying the vessel itself. Simply put, if Huck does not choose a certain value system for himself, he may well become an alcoholic and die under the fence, like his dad, or perish in a drunken brawl. Adulthood It’s not as bright as a child’s life, but it’s a pity.

On this not very happy note, Tom Sawyer says goodbye to us. The characterization of the hero ends here.