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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Does Sid believe Tom is sick?

2. What do the men fight over?

3. What thought discourages Tom from committing suicide?

4. Why does Becky miss school?

5. How does Tom get his tickets?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the graveyard.

2. Describe some of the ways Tom and Huck discuss to remove warts.

3. How are Sid and Tom different?

4. What about Tom's behavior at school strikes Sid as strange?

5. Where do Tom and Huck agree to meet next?

6. How does Tom trick Aunt Polly so that he can escape?

7. What is Tom's objection after the initial reaction to the boys' homecoming?

8. What does Tom make Becky whisper in his ear?

9. Why does Tom realize that Muff Potter cannot tell the true story?

10. What do Tom and Huck do with their pact after they sign it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Tom Sawyer is a dramatic person. He creates melodrama out of the events of his life.

1) Why does Tom Sawyer take on a melodramatic attitude of pining for Becky and then depression when Becky rejects him? Who is this attitude aimed at?

2) How and why does Tom dramatize the things that he does, such as running away to become a pirate? Why does Tom choose to let his family suffer, thinking he's dead, so that he can make his reemergence more dramatic?

3) What is the origin of Tom's desire for drama?

Essay Topic 2

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is filled with stereotypes. Discuss stereotypes in the novel.

1) What are the racial stereotypes in the novel? How is Injun Joe a stereotype of the author, and how is he stereotyped by the town?

2) What are the gender stereotypes in the novel? Discuss Aunt Polly, Widow Douglas, Becky Thatcher, and Amy Lawrence as examples of female stereotypes.

3) How are Tom Sawyer and Huck Finns stereotypes of boys?

Essay Topic 3

Injun Joe is motivated to murder out of revenge. Discuss Injun Joe's desire for revenge.

1) What has happened to Injun Joe that caused him to seek revenge? Why have these events happened to Injun Joe?

2) What characteristics of Injun Joe's personality lead to him seeking revenge? To what extent is Joe's desire for revenge fueled by his personality, and to what extent is it fueled by how others have treated him?

3) Widow Douglas says of Huck that God's hand is seen in every creature he makes. Is this true of Injun Joe as well?

(see the answer keys)

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