In Mark Twain's novel, in what town on the Mississippi does Tom Sawyer live?

Thomas "Tom" Sawyer is the title character of the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Tom is a boy of about 12 years of age, who resides in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri, in about the year 1845. Tom Sawyer's best friends include Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom's infatuation with classmate Becky Thatcher is apparent as he tries to intrigue her with his strength, boldness, and handsome looks. He first sees her after he confessed his feelings for Amy Lawrence, one of his classmates. He lives with his half-brother Sid, his cousin Mary, and his stern Aunt Polly. There is no mention of Tom's father. Tom has another aunt, Sally Phelps, who lives considerably farther down the Mississippi.

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom is only a minor character and is used as a foil for Huck, particularly in the later chapters of the novel after Huck makes his way to Uncle Phelps's plantation. Tom's immaturity, imagination, and obsession with stories put Huck's planned rescue of the runaway slave Jim in great jeopardy — and ultimately make it unnecessary, since he knows Jim's owner has died and freed him in her will. Throughout the novel, Huck's intellectual and emotional development is a central theme, and by re-introducing a character from the beginning (Tom), Twain is able to highlight this evolution in Huck's character.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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36 Comments

Jill Lyons

"Political correctness" is more than banning potentially offensive words and ideas. It was meant to be more inclusive and less hateful. Some who support PC have taken it too far...some who oppose PC have taken it too far. "Political correctness is one of the brilliant tools that the American Right developed in the mid–1980s, as part of its demolition of American liberalism.... What the sharpest thinkers on the American Right saw quickly was that by declaring war on the cultural manifestations of liberalism – by levelling the charge of "political correctness" against its exponents – they could discredit the whole political project." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_correctness When I was in high school in the late 1970s, a bus driver announced over the radio that she was "going to pick up the retards." Everyone on all the buses heard. I am glad that her statement would be unacceptable today. NOTE: Banned Books by Anne Lyon Haight (4th ed., 1978) is a fascinating discussion of censorship and freedom.

Claudia Heilke

Jill Lyons, I agree with you. There is nothing wrong about being on the right side of a moral issue.

Eric Brown

Got it right. Of course I read the book several times when I was a kid and bad weather kept us kids from playing outside. Too bad bad the PC crowd doesn't want the books "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" being read by anyone. Next thing you know the PC crowd will want to burn them. In my opinion we'd be better off burning the PC crowd.

Richard S. Levine

Fizzbanne, Please reread the answer, slowly!! Steve meant the Mississippi RIVER, not the state. The Missouri River runs west to east & joins the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Story took place well north of there.