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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 prevented Injun Joe's capture at the Widow Douglas' house?

2. Why does Tom remember to grab the towel before running?

3. What do Tom and Huck do instead of going to the haunted house?

4. What does Tom find in No. 2?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What good deed does Tom do for Becky?

3. Where does Tom think he's found No. 2?

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

5. How does Tom treat Amy Lawrence when he comes back to school?

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

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

8. Describe the Spaniard.

9. What is Tom's prior experience with the boy he saw Becky with?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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?

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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