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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 does Tom say they need to stop and wait by the water?

2. What does Tom say the Widow Douglas has for children?

3. What does the boy Becky spent time with do to Tom when he finds out he's been used?

4. How does Polly learn that Tom was lying about his dream?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. What happens to Tom and Huck's treasure?

5. What does Tom say that people often find that leads them to a buried treasure?

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

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

8. What happens at the Fourth of July celebration?

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

10. What is the town's reaction after the murder trial?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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