The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Free
Published 1876

Mark Twain was a humorist and satirist who achieved worldwide acclaim while still alive. For more on Mark Twain see my post on his Biography and Autobiography.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of Mark Twain's most famous novels. The book follows Tom Sawyer and his friends growing up in a town next to the Mississippi river and all the adventures they experience. The characters are loosely based on Mark Twain’s childhood and his friends. Tom Sawyer was written as a children’s novel and Mark Twain uses this as a means to express his social commentary. Using a child’s innocence and simplicity he is able to point out the sometimes childish and irrational norms of society.

“Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it.”

Seeing the world through a child's worldview, Twain is able to point out that society does not always operate on logical and wise principles.

“Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it -- namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.”

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Even while pointing out a flaw of society, Twain manages to insert humor into his book. Mark Twain was appealing to the child in his readers and what better way than to remind us of the fun we had as children. We never laugh as much as we did when we were young.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a tribute to childhood. Mark Twain uses the book to introduce characters and themes that he will explore further in the sequel to Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Mark Twain was a great American writer who added depths of meaning to a great American novel. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer can be enjoyed by children and adults alike.





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Autobiography of Mark Twain

Mark Twain
Autobiography of Mark Twain - $9.79
2010

Mark Twain had a knack for delivering the unexpected. He made a name for himself as a journalist while not writing the stories he set out to. He would procrastinate until the last minute then turn in something different to his editor. This was a nightmare to his editor but exactly what the people wanted. He was a very popular writer in his time because even though he was a humorist he never attacked people in a negative way.

Twain knew what he was writing in his autobiography and asked that it not be printed until 100 years after his death. He did not want to diminish his popular persona. He said he wouldn't care what people thought about him 100 years. He also thought that if he wasn't being discussed 100 years later this would be a way of making himself relevant. No one could of guessed that he would still be as widely read 100 years after his death as he was when he was a very popular living writer.

Mark Twain was always tactful. He could make someone feel important even when insulting them.

"This book is not a revenge-record. When I build a fire under a person in it, I do not do it merely because of the enjoyment I get out of seeing him fry, but because he is worth the trouble. It is then a compliment, a distinction; let him give thanks and keep quiet. I do not fry the small, the commonplace, the unworthy."

The autobiography is compiled of things he wrote that he did not want published as well as writings specifically written to be included here.

"It is a system which is a complete and purposed jumble — a course which begins nowhere, follows no specific route, and can never reach an end while I am alive, for the reason that if I should talk to the stenographer two hours a day for a hundred years, I should still never be able to set down a tenth part of the things which have interested me in my lifetime."

He wanted the autobiography published 100 years after his death but his estate published it several times before. Twain published a few chapters that he thought acceptable before he died.

Chapters from My Autobiography - Free

Here is a previous version of the autobiography. This is not the new edited version but is very close and much cheaper.

Autobiography of Mark Twain - $2.99

This is the second piece in the Mark Twain series. Knowing the background of a writer will help in understanding some of the points and in getting a better understanding. By reading the Henderson Biography on Twain and the Autobiography, you will be ready to dive into the Mark Twain library.

Check out our Facebook Page and Like us to keep up to date on the latest Kindle Literature news. You can share this post or any others on your social media of choice and bookmark the site for future post. You can also grab the RSS feed or try a   free 2 week trial*  on your Kindle to have the posts delivered directly to your Kindle. Follow me on twitter @seframos. Happy Reading.