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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Penguin Classics)
 
 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Mark Twain (Author), John Seelye (Introduction) "Tom!" No answer ..." (more)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (25 Jan 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0143039563
  • ISBN-13: 978-0143039563
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 11,903 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #3 in  Books > Fiction > The Classics > Twain, Mark
    #46 in  Books > Fiction > World > American > Classics
    #93 in  Books > Fiction > By Period > 19th Century > Authors

Product Description

Product Description

From the famous episodes of the whitewashed fence and the ordeal in the cave to the trial of Injun Joe, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is redolent of life in the Mississippi River towns in which Twain spent his own youth. A somber undercurrent flows through the high humor and unabashed nostalgia of the novel, however, for beneath the innocence of childhood lie the inequities of adult reality—base emotions and superstitions, murder and revenge, starvation and slavery. In his introduction, noted Twain scholar John Seelye considers Twain’s impact on American letters and discusses the balance between humorous escapades and serious concern that is found in much of Twain’s writing.


About the Author

Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, in 1835, and died at Redding, Connecticut in 1910. In his person and in his pursuits he was a man of extraordinary contrasts. Although he left school at twelve when his father died, he was eventually awarded honorary degrees from Yale University, the University of Missouri, and Oxford University. His career encompassed such varied occupations as printer, Mississippi riverboat pilot, journalist, travel writer, and publisher. He made fortunes from his writing but toward the end of his life he had to resort to lecture tours to pay his debts. He was hot-tempered, profane, and sentimental—and also pessimistic, cynical, and tortured by self-doubt. His nostalgia helped produce some of his best books. He lives in American letters as a great artist, the writer whom William Dean Howells called “the Lincoln of our literature.” John Seelye is a graduate research professor of American literature at the University of Florida. He is the author of The True Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain at the Movies, Prophetic Waters: The River in Early American Literature, Beautiful Machine: Rivers and the Early Republic, Memory's Nation: The Place of Plymouth Rock, and War Games: Richard Harding Davis and the New Imperialism. He is also the consulting editor for Penguin Classics in American literature. Guy Cardwell has written several books on Mark Twain and is emeritus professor of English at Washington University

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
"Tom!" No answer. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

14 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
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 (5)
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Growing into a Man, 13 May 2004
By Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)      
Tom Sawyer is the first great coming of age American novel. In addition, Tom Sawyer is one of the most endearing characters in American fiction. This wonderful book deals with all the challenges that any young person faces, and resolves them in exciting and unusual ways.

Like many young people, Tom would rather be having fun than going to school and church. This desire to enjoy life is always getting him into trouble, from which he finds unusual and imaginative solutions. One of the great scenes in this book has Tom persuading his friends to help him whitewash a fence by making them think that nothing could be finer than doing his punishment for playing hooky from school. When I first read this story, it opened up my mind to the potential power of persuasion.

Tom also is given up for dead and has the unusual experience of watching his own funeral and hearing what people really thought of him. That's something we all should be able to do. By imagining what people will say at our funeral, we can help establish the purpose of our own lives. Mark Twain has given us a powerful tool for self-examination in this wonderful sequence.

Tom and Huck Finn also witness a murder, and have to decide how to handle the fact that they were not supposed to be there and their fear of retribution from the murderer, Injun Joe.

Girls are a part of Tom's life, and Becky Thatcher and he have a remarkable adventure in a cave with Injun Joe. Any young person will remember the excitement of being near someone they cared about alone in this vignette.

Tom stands for the freedom that the American frontier offered to everyone. His aunt Polly represents the civilizing influence of adults and towns. Twain sets up a rewarding novel that makes us rethink the advantages of both freedom and civilization. In this day of the Internet frontier, this story can still provide valuable lessons about listening to our inner selves and acting on what they have to say. Enjoy looking for fun in new ways!

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic story of boyhood, 12 Feb 2007
By S. A. Maskrey (Derby, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Whatever age you are, this book is sure to enjoyed by all. Some people will read it as a purely entertaining account of the childhood of an over-imaginative but loveable boy. Even today, Toms exploits reverberate with growing up, and the pure joy of being young and free. Sadly, in a world of growing regulation and overprotectiveness by parents, some of the adventures of Tom Sawyer will not sadly be enjoyed by todays average twelve-year-old, but are still sure to be understood and provide amusement to all young people.

It is difficult to compare this novel with Huckleberry Finn, and at times seems to be written by a different author. That said, it typifies much of Mark Twain, and the area of the US in which he grew up, without relating too much to the serious issues that lie just under the surface of Huck Finn.

Overall, it is a book that deserves to be read, preferably as a child, and by those [slightly older people] that remember growing up and getting up to some of Toms adventures as a child, and want to reminisce.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great for kids and adult alike, 16 Jul 2006
By Spider Monkey (UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
I love this book. Whether you're a kid or an adult, this book will delight. It conjures up wonderful images of life in America at this time and you can't help but be enchanted by the adventures Tom gets himself involved in, as well as the childhood rituals (simple things like swapping toys and playing in woods!) he takes part in, that we all did and don't realise we miss until reading a book like this. This is a delightful book about childhood and adventure. Superb.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story of youth
Mark Twain was a great writer, plain and simple. It's been a while since I read his other great book, where Hucklebery Finn is the main protagonist, and I seem to remember liking... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Blackbeard

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic to pick up again
Although Twain intended the novel mainly for young readers, it has to be admitted that his literary style and references to contemporary life will make it hard going for today's... Read more
Published 15 months ago by David

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic
For some reason I decided to re-read this over Christmas (I hadn't read it since I was at school) and I'm so glad I did because it was much more fun and far more interesting and... Read more
Published 22 months ago by BizLiz

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book I have ever read
This book is good friend, powerful good. Not a sing fault with it. Would recomend it over all other bood of the form "Adventures of... Read more
Published on 23 Aug 2006 by Mark Twain

4.0 out of 5 stars My Review
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is an amazing book. Mark Twain was excellent with his characters. He created them with the intent that we can relate to them. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2006 by TJ Ibberson

4.0 out of 5 stars A book that would be enjoyed by everyone
This is an enjoyable book with language used by olden day children, which gives excellent effect. It has thrilling and exciting chapters and adventures which are sometimes funny,... Read more
Published on 21 Jul 2005 by sam22805

5.0 out of 5 stars Growing into a Man
Tom Sawyer is the first great coming of age American novel. In addition, Tom Sawyer is one of the most endearing characters in American fiction. Read more
Published on 13 May 2004 by Professor Donald Mitchell

4.0 out of 5 stars A book about a boy and his adventures.
I read the play of this book at school and I loved reading it. I think the way Mark Twain has made the characters personalities and actions are just super and make the characters... Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars an exciting, interesting and educational book
I thought that the book Tom Sawyer was excellent. It was a wonderful account of life through a young boy's eyes, and it is not everyday that you find a book so well written, and... Read more
Published on 8 Sep 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars The best
As a kid, this book made me laugh and cry. I remember it still, after 25 years. Unfortunately, youth belongs exclusively to young people, but only adults really know how to... Read more
Published on 30 Aug 1999

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