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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 kind of craft do the townspeople take onto the river to look for the boys?

2. What task does Polly give Tom as punishment?

3. How is Aunt Polly related to Tom?

4. What does Tom do when he plays hooky?

5. What does Tom say will happen if the boys break their pact?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the minister say about the boys at the funeral?

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

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

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

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

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

7. Describe Tom's high spirits at suppertime.

8. How are Sid and Tom different?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Tom Sawyer is a mischievous trickster. Discuss the role of mischief and trickery in the novel.

1) Aunt Polly scolds and punishes Tom for his mischief, but she forgives him easily, too. When Tom thinks he'll die, he believes he'll go to hell for his misbehavior, but at his funeral, the pastor has nothing but good to say of the boys. How bad or wrong is Tom's mischief?

2) Why does Tom misbehave? What does Tom gain from his antics, and is the gain worth the price?

3) Besides Tom, how do other characters get into mischief? Compare and contrast other characters' mischievous behavior with Tom's.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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