Tom Sawyer's Role in Huckleberry Finn

In his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses specific incidents and both main and secondary characters to develop themes and comment on Romanticism and society at the time. Tom Sawyer, though he is a secondary character, plays an influential role in Twain’s criticism, satire, and farce of Romanticism and society. Tom’s romantic qualities and tendencies are in sharp contrast with the logical and sensible characteristics of Huck. Tom takes control …

…obvious criticism of romanticism. Because of Tom’s reliance on his adventure novels to direct situations as he deems “the right way”, Tom also summarizes civilization’s reliance on tradition and existing laws that have been recorded, despite their lack of humanity and compassion. By including Tom Sawyer, Twain was able to express his commentaries of Romanticism and society while also adding a humor that is evident only in the infamous Tom Sawyer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**