Tom's Bugs - Adventure of Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer is a boy's boy. He's mischievous, he's adventure seeking, he's fascinated with bugs. Yet while much has been written about these first two personality traits, it is the third one the unexamined territory of Tom's insectuous interactions that intrigues me. Throughout my reading of Tom Sawyer there was a prevalent buzzing in my ear a nipping at my neck. It became apparent to me that while the main characters in the novel may …

…provide comic relief, but often their role is more important. They are at times used as a means of demystifying the Church, and at others provide a commentary on Tom's view of education. Later, they act to reduce man's view of himself in the world to the most insignificant level. While the insects in Tom Sawyer may at first seem unimportant, once they are looked at with a critical mindset, their buzzing cannot be ignored.