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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. Why do the boys realize they're mistaken about the omen?

2. How does Tom feel when he gets to school?

3. What thought discourages Tom from committing suicide?

4. What happens to the doctor?

5. What task does Polly give Tom as punishment?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Huck caution Tom about when speaking of the dead?

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

5. Why does Tom confess that he stopped to talk with Huckleberry Finn on the way to school?

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

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

8. Describe Aunt Polly's dilemma in punishing Tom.

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

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

Discuss love and jealousy in the novel by examining the relationship between Becky and Tom.

1) Is Tom really in love with Becky? Is his love for Becky different from his "love" for Amy Lawrence, whom he so easily dismisses? How is his love of Becky different from his love for Aunt Polly?

2) Describe Becky's feelings for Tom. What attracts Becky to Tom? How deep are her emotions for him? How does the experience in the caves change their relationship?

3) How do the characters experience and use jealousy in their relationship?

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

Huck Finn feels constrained by the Widow Douglas, just as Tom feels constrained by his Sunday shoes. Discuss freedom in the novel, and how freedom conflicts with civilization.

1) What does Huck Finn find constricting about civilization?

2) The boys admire and emulate outlaws. Why do they admire fictional outlaws? How do they feel about the real outlaws in the novel?

3) Tom Sawyer admires Huck for his free lifestyle, and yet at the end of the novel, he convinces Huck to stay with the Widow Douglas. Why does he do this?

(see the answer keys)

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