Seelye is an American novelist and the author of The True Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a reworking of Twain's classic. In the following essay, he interprets the psychological symbolism in Tom Sawyer.

Powers is an American educator and critic who has written several studies of Henry James's works. In the following essay, he explores Tom Sawyer's particular appeal to the American temperament.

Wolff is an American educator and critic. In the following essay, she asserts that Tom Sawyer is a protest against the female-dominated moral code of Twain's day and the lack of suitable masculine role models for boys.

Tracy is an American educator, critic, and translator. In the following essay, he explores Twain's use of mythological imagery and universal archetypes in Tom Sawyer.

Blair was an American author and editor who wrote two book-length studies of Huckleberry Finn. In the following essay, he demonstrates that Tom Sawyer was written partly as a response to the didactic children's fiction of Twain's day.

In the following essay, which was first presented as a paper at the Midwinter Meeting of the American Psychoanalytic Association in December, 1954, Barrett examines the psychological and mythological implications of Tom Sawyer's name.

Rubin is an American critic, educator, and novelist. In the following essay, he argues that Tom Sawyer presents a unique portrait of American life.

In the following essay, Karpowitz demonstrates how Twain's attitudes toward women are revealed in Tom Sawyer.

Trilling is an American editor and critic. In the following essay, which first appeared as a preface to the 1962 Crowell-Collier edition of Tom Sawyer, she analyzes Twain's portrayal of childhood and parental responsibility in the novel.

Marks is an American educator and the editor of a critical anthology on Twain's novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In the following essay, Marks argues that, while Tom Sawyer begins by satirizing social convention, the novel ends with an affirmation of the human need for society.

Pinsker is an American educator and critic. In the following essay, he explores the concept of play in Tom Sawyer.

Leary is an American educator and critic who has written extensively on American literature. In the following essay, he analyzes Twain's synthesis of romantic and anti-romantic themes in Tom Sawyer.

In the following essay, the critic praises the portrayal of boyhood in the rural American Southwest in Tom Sawyer.