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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. What tonic does Aunt Polly give Tom to bring him out of his depressed mood?

2. Does Sid believe Tom is sick?

3. What does Tom do when he plays hooky?

4. How does Huck sign his name?

5. Why does the teacher seat Tom with the girls?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the boys' reactions to realizing that the townspeople think they're dead?

2. What is Aunt Polly's reaction to Tom's disappearance?

3. How does Tom trick other boys into doing his work for him?

4. Describe Polly's reaction when Tom says he's done with the whitewashing.

5. When Tom talks and is restless in his sleep, how is his behavior explained?

6. What grievance does Injun Joe have against the doctor?

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

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

9. What do the boys do after witnessing the murder?

10. What mistake does Tom make that gives away to Polly that he played hooky?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Culture is the values, beliefs, and attitudes of a society, reflected in what they do and make and how they communicate. Describe the culture of Tom and Huck's town. What do the townspeople value and admire? What are the religious and political beliefs and values of the town? How do they enforce good behavior? What are the beliefs about child-rearing? What other important beliefs or attitudes can you identify?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss religion in the novel.

1) Is Tom religious? Discuss his reactions to Sunday school, his behavior in church, his beliefs in superstition, and his beliefs about the afterlife.

2) What role does religion play in Tom's family? What purposes does the Sunday-morning family ritual serve?

3) Do the community's religious leaders influence thought in the community? How?

Essay Topic 3

Superstition and myth is an important part of Tom Sawyer's worldview. Discuss superstition and myth in the novel.

1) What superstitions and myths does Tom believe in? Why does Tom believe in these superstitions and myths?

2) What does Tom do when events in reality contradict the myths or superstitions he believes in? Why does he react this way?

3) What are the other characters' opinions and beliefs about myths, superstitions, or the supernatural? How does Tom use Polly's belief in the supernatural to manipulate her?

(see the answer keys)

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