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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 food do Tom and Becky have left from the picnic?

2. Why does Tom not want to go back through the caves the way he and Becky came?

3. What does Tom find in No. 2?

4. What does Tom see that shows him the way out of the cave?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe what happens the first time Becky goes to sleep in the cave.

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

3. What is Tom's approach to finding buried treasure?

4. How does Tom feel when Injun Joe is found dead?

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

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

7. What happens at the Fourth of July celebration?

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

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

10. Describe Huck's reaction to living with the Widow Douglas.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

As the author says, the story of Tom Sawyer is the story of a boy, and at the end of the story, he is on his way to manhood. Describe how The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a coming of age story. What are the qualities of boyhood in Tom during the story? What are the qualities that make a person adult in the story? What steps does Tom take toward adulthood? How much further does Tom have to go toward adulthood at the end of the novel?

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

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?

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