Metaphorosis Reviews
Written on Jan 1, 1974
Summary
Tom Sawyer tries to be a good boy, but not too hard. Sometimes, you jest have to get out and play. But, with his friend Huck Finn, he gets into somewhat deeper waters than he ever intended.
Review
I hadn’t read Tom Sawyer for some decades, at least, but thought it was time to go back to it, and I’m glad I did. There are aspects I didn’t remember well – some sidebars about education and composition, quite where they find Injun Joe – but largely the book stood the test of time.
It’s a children’s story, though it uses vocabulary that would likely be deemed too sophisticated for children these days, but I’m with Twain on this. More to the point, he captures childish concerns and excitements nicely. Tom and his friends are pretty credible and very engaging. The adults are far more forgiving than seems quite reasonable, but perhaps that’s filtered by Tom’s rosy perception. In any case, the story isn’t about them.
Obviously, times have changed, and some may find the characters’ use of ‘the n word’ irredeemable, but I think it fairly reflects the time. Perhaps unlike Huckleberry Finn, this is intended largely as a fun book for children, not as a critique of society, though there is a little of that as well. It’s an adventure story, and it works very well to that end. Details aside, I remember it clearly from my own youth, and if I’m more jaded and less excited by Tom’s risks now, I think the book still holds up well. Read it within the context and I think you’ll enjoy it.