"Tom Sawyer" Summative Response

You wake up yet again to what feels like another utterly flawless day. The sunlight illuminates the outside, sharing its balmy temperature, and you take advantage of it. You let your imagination run free, wild, because you know nothing can penetrate that power. Not caring about what could go wrong, you follow your thoughts wherever they take you. This is the way that Tom Sawyer, the main character of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, leads his life. Being young and foolish, he relies on his imagination to control his motives, but sometimes that’s what we all rely on when we need a little inspiration. The thoughts we have aren’t always practical, but that is exactly what makes us human.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a book we all can relate to. Mark Twain creates this unbelievable little kid that we all have in us, and then some. Tom is imaginative and adventurous, like most of us once were, but then, when you least expect it, he dares to do these heinous actions, things that we all wish we had the perseverance to attempt. There’s not always good results that come from these adventures, but that is just a part of life. Sometimes you have to take risks to discover what it truly means to “live life to the fullest.”

If people choose to do think certain things and make certain decisions, those will become our character. The way we operate dictates the kind of person we will always be. Tom is thoughtful and heroic, and that will never change. Our qualities define ourselves, which is why when in the book, the day was saved or the situation got worse, Tom Sawyer found behind it. Even if these qualities lead us to making the biggest mistake ever, like when Tom and Becky Thatcher get lost in the cave, something good always comes from it. They know now not to wander too far away from the people they care about.

At that particular point of the book, Tom’s character becomes especially pronounced. Even when his life could have been pulled away from him, Tom continued on, guiding Becky and searching for the way out. If Tom had not been so bold from the very beginning of the book, he would not have been able to do this, which is why it is so vital that we follow our instincts. There might be a time where the things that happen to us will turn out to be very useful.

Tom Sawyer uses his imagination as a release from normal everyday life. He takes what’s boring and makes it fun. Now and then it’s good to have a release, and just be a kid. We have too much time to deal with to leave behind everything we once thought. Wherever our thoughts and actions take us, we will know that that’s what distinguishes us.

"Tom Sawyer" Response: Love

At some point in your life, there’s bound to be someone you like a little more than everyone else. They’re the one that you would do anything for, just to catch their eye. You’ll get into trouble for them, and you’ll go crazy just to get a seat next to them. Love makes us do foolish, unimaginable things, but without it, life would seem so lost.

Love can sometimes make people feel like a different person, changing one’s perspective on things. Tom Sawyer falls into this trap when he meets Becky Thatcher, a girl whom he had seen while walking one day. On the first day of school, Tom arrives late to class because he decided to stop and talk to Huckleberry Finn, which is deeply frowned upon for children to do. Rather than making an excuse, he tells the truth to the teacher, in order to sit on the girl's side of the room, right near Becky. Tom’s love for her changes his normal behavior, which is bound to happen when we like someone. It almost blinds us, and makes it harder to see what's really happening.

As wonderful as this feeling can be, it doesn’t always end up so grand. Tom is the kind of kid that always gets his way, no matter what the circumstance. So when he first began his admiration of Becky, he tries and does everything he possible can to get what he wants. When it finally happens, Tom is overjoyed, only for it to come crashing down because he messed it up by telling Becky about him and Amy Lawrence, someone he was supposedly “engaged” to. Becky is heartbroken, and Tom is left feeling awful and confused. Love can be a beautiful thing, but it will knock every single person down that dares to cross it.

It can be a difficult journey when dealing with love, and every step is filled with something more to think about. There's always going to be a new problem that will emerge, but we still continue on, for the moments that aren't problems, the reason we're there on the journey. Life wouldn't feel quite the same without love.