View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What prevented Injun Joe from taking off on Friday?

2. How does Tom react to Becky when he goes back to school?

3. What dampens Tom's expectations of a night at Widow Douglas'?

4. Why does Tom join the Cadets of Temperance?

5. What was the schoolmaster's unfulfilled goal?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Tom's prior experience with the boy he saw Becky with?

2. Describe what happens in the courtroom during Tom's testimony.

3. Where does Tom think he's found No. 2?

4. What happens at the Fourth of July celebration?

5. What does Tom think when he's whipped for ruining his schoolbook?

6. Why does Injun Joe want to harm the Widow Douglas?

7. What happens during Tom's speech on examination day?

8. What is kept in the mysterious room at the tavern?

9. Describe what happens the first time Becky goes to sleep in the cave.

10. Does the Welshman take credit for saving Widow Douglas?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bravery is an important issue in the novel. For example, when Tom Sawyer bravely takes on Becky's punishment, he wins her love.

1) In what ways is Tom Sawyer brave and in what ways is he not brave? What leads to Tom's brave acts?

2) What other characters exhibit bravery, and what is their motivation?

3) Does bravery have any disadvantages or negative aspects in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss what creates value and desire in the novel.

1) How does Tom manipulate value and desire to get the other boys to whitewash the fence for him? Why does this work? Is it realistic?

2) Why are Tom and Huck willing to put in hard labor to search for imagined treasure? Why does Tom decide he will stay overnight at the Widow Douglas' house instead of waiting for Huck's signal, when the possible treasure is more immediate and real?

3) Why does Tom feel an intense desire to swear, smoke, chew, and do other forbidden acts while he's a member of the temperance group but loses his desire as soon as he leaves the group?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 872 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample