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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. Who does Tom meet on his way to school?

2. What role do Tom and Joe Harper take in the battle?

3. What does Tom do that makes Becky cry?

4. What do the boys play after the storm?

5. What wakes Tom the next morning?

Short Essay Questions

1. What story does Huck Finn recall to cast doubt on the omen the boys see?

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

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

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

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

6. What has Mary earned in Sunday School, and what did she have to do to earn it?

7. What is Tom dissatisfied with by the end of the Sunday service?

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

9. How does Tom get shooed away from Jeff Thatcher's house?

10. Describe what Tom hears while he waits for Huck.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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