Themes

Friendship

Children's friendships are at the center of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Tom's family — Aunt Polly, Mary, and Sid — does not always appreciate him and does not figure into his rich imaginative life. However, Tom's friends — Joe Harper and Huck Finn in particular — look up to him precisely because he is so imaginative and adventurous. The boys see each other as they want to be seen, and together they create an exciting world of intrigue（阴谋） and adventure. The friendship between Tom and Huck especially is highlighted in the novel. Tom admires Huck for his freedom from adults' rules, and he knows that his association with Huck makes him appear daring, an image he relishes. Tom also cares about Huck, concerned that he is alone in the world. When the boys return from their pirating adventure to attend their own funerals, Tom and Joe are smothered with affection by their families while Huck stands awkwardly alone, with no one to welcome him home. Tom points out to Aunt Polly that "it ain't fair. Somebody's got to be glad to see Huck." Tom and Huck share

a deep belief in superstitions and a love of adventure, imagining themselves as pirates and robbers in partnership with one another. Tom is so loyal to Huck that he repeatedly disobeys Aunt Polly's orders not to play with Huck, and Tom proudly announces to the schoolmaster that he was late for school because he was playing with the forbidden Huck, even though he knows he will be punished for it. The boys often use dramatic conventions to represent their loyalty to one another. For example, after they secretly observe Injun Joe's murder of Dr. Robinson in the cemetery, Tom writes an oath that "they will keep mum about this and wish they may drop down dead in their tracks if they ever tell and Rot." Tom and Huck then sign the oath with their own blood.

Because Tom is a child of the community, and thus assured of adult protection, he feels safe enough to testify against Injun Joe in Muff Potter's murder trial. But Tom keeps secret Huck's knowledge of the same situation, because Huck fears Injun Joe's retaliation and knows he is without serious protection. Huck and Tom's friendship rises above the social conventions of St. Petersburg. They are friends because each likes the other for who he is,

and it matters little to either that their society frowns upon their friendship.

Imagination

Tom Sawyer's imagination rules his life and shapes his world. He takes every opportunity to make a game of life, embarking on such romantic endeavors as digging for buried treasure or organizing his friends into a band of pirates with names like "the Black Avenger of the Spanish Main," "Huck Finn the Red-Handed," and "the Terror of the Seas." Perhaps not always completely original in their imaginings, Tom and his friends play Robin Hood by reciting dialogue that they have memorized from the book. Although he claims to reject many of the rules of the adult world, Tom has his own clear rules about how pirates must behave, what social class robbers must come from, and how certain superstitions work. His imaginings may free him from his rulebound world, but they often place him in another such world. His imaginative world and his "real" world — the mundane life of St. Petersburg — do not often collide. Yet when these two worlds do collide — such as when Tom and Huck witness the murder in the cemetery, and when Tom

realizes how badly he hurt Aunt Polly when he ran away to play pirates, and when Tom and Becky's adventure in the cave turns life-threatening — Tom is able to understand the limits of imagination. In each case, Tom's empathy for another person — Muff Potter, Dr. Robinson, Aunt Polly, Becky — causes him to realize that he needs to stop pretending and deal with the situation at hand. Truth and Falsehood

The first words Tom Sawyer speaks in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer are a lie. Aunt Polly is looking for Tom and shouting his name, and when she finds him hiding in the closet and asks him what he is doing, he replies, in an obvious lie, "Nothing." She points to the jam all over his mouth and hands and asks what it is, and he replies, "I don't know, aunt," another obvious lie. Tom is thus introduced as a mischievous boy who gets into trouble, although Aunt Polly's laughter upon Tom's escape from her disapproval shows that his lies and disobedience are essentially unimportant to her. Tom lies frequently throughout the novel, mostly about where he's been or what he's been doing, and mostly to avoid getting into trouble. However, when

telling the truth really matters, Tom knows he must not lie. When he first returns home after his pirating

adventure, he feels bad about having hurt Aunt Polly by scaring her with his long absence, so he lies to her about having had a dream about her when he was away on his pirating adventure. When she later discovers that the story of the dream had all been a lie, Tom realizes that "what had seemed like a good joke before, and very ingenious merely looked mean and shabby now." His

conscience prods him finally to tell her the truth of what really happened. But this time, Aunt Polly doesn't believe him, and she refuses to until she finds the piece of bark in his jacket pocket with the note to her on it that he had said he had written. Tom's conscience again leads him to tell the truth when he decides he must help Muff Potter. Because he cannot in good conscience let Potter be

convicted of Dr. Robinson's murder, Tom decides to be a witness at Potter's murder trial, even though he knows by doing so he places himself in some danger with Injun Joe. In spite of the ease with which lying comes to him, Tom's conscience and his ability to tell the truth when he should place him in stark contrast to Injun Joe. Injun Joe, a man

without a conscience and thus capable of evil, lies and misrepresents himself for the purpose of personal gain.

第二篇：汤姆索亚历险记英文读后感

Brave boy: Tom sawyer

Today, I was read the book which called “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” This story is about a clever boy called Tom Sawyer.

今天，我读了一本叫做“汤姆索亚历险记”的书。这本书是关于一个叫做汤姆索亚的聪明的小男孩。

Tom Sawyer does not like school. He does not like work, and he never wants to get out of bed in the morning. But he likes swimming and fishing, and having adventures with his friends. And he has a lot of adventures.

汤姆索亚不喜欢学校，他不喜欢工作，他从不想要在早上起床。但是他喜欢游泳和钓鱼，和他的伙伴们一起去探险。他有很多历险记。

But Tom’s adventures can be dangerous, too. One night in the graveyard he and Huck Finn see three men. Then Tom and his friends saw a murder. What can they do? Next they experienced an exciting adventure……

但是汤姆的历险也会很危险。一天晚上在坟场他和费恩、贝琪撒切尔看到了三个男人。接下来汤姆和他的伙伴目睹了一场谋杀。他们做了什么？接下来他们经历了一场刺激的冒险??

End of the story, Tom and Huck get a lot of money, they were the richest people in St Petersburg.

故事的最后，汤姆和费恩得到了许多钱，他们成了圣彼得堡

最富有的人。

I think Tom Sawyer is a brave boy. He always gives his friends courage in danger and he tries his best to help other people.

我认为汤姆索亚是个勇敢的男孩。他总是在危险中给他的伙伴们勇气，他尽自己最大的努力去帮助别人。

Of course we know, Tom is a very naughty boy, and his aunt Polly is often angry with him. But I think he also is a good boy. He always can make other people happy.

当然我们知道，汤姆是个非常顽皮的男孩，他经常惹波莉姨妈生气。但是我认为他也是个好男孩。他总是能够让别人快乐。

People always grow, besides height, body has grown stronger, and people’s thoughts are long. Your view on the world is different, sensible, and no longer childish. But people are getting better. Don't like the adventures of the ruthless villains, and his quest do bad, people see people hate. But at last he still Las Toman, got a starved to death in the cave.

人总是会长大的，除了个儿长高了，身子强壮了以外，人的思想也在长。你对世界的看法不同了，懂事了，不再幼稚了。不过人是会越变越好的。千万不能像历险记里的那个心狠手辣的坏蛋卓伊一样，他坏事做尽，人见人恨。但最后他还是恶有恶报，得到了一个活活饿死在山洞里的下场。

After reading the "Adventures of Tom Sawyer," I really envy

Tom to have such an interesting experience. It seems this book with relish, and even sleepless nights.

读完了“汤姆索亚历险记”，我真的很羡慕汤姆有一个这么有趣的经历。这本书看起来津津有味，甚至晚上睡不着。

In my heart, I respect Tom. Maybe he is a hero. And I think I should learn something from Tom Sawyer.

在我的心里，我尊重汤姆。可能因为他是个英雄。我认为我应该从汤姆索亚哪里学到些什么。

洪雅安