The Immaturity In Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer
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Nothing can stay gold forever. When applied to the idea of childlike innocence, it means that when people are in their childhood, they are pure and unblemished, not yet tainted by the cruel realities of life. However, as they grow up, children mature and lose the golden qualities that they had once possessed through pains and hardships. Mark Twain epitomizes this process throughout his realistic fiction novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist Tom is a careless, innocent boy who always searches for adventures and entertainments. However, as the novel progresses, his journeys become no longer fun and safe as he faces numerous challenges. By illustrating Tom’s gradual detachment from his boyhood problems…show more content… At the start of the novel, Tom’s immaturity and inability to acknowledge his wrongdoings gets him in constant trouble. To demonstrate, when Tom is ordered to whitewash the fence as a punishment, by making it seem amusing and entertaining, he coaxes other boys into wanting to do the chore themselves. Thus, while the boys go about whitewashing, Tom sits “on a barrel in a shade close by, dangled his legs, munched his apple, and planned the slaughter of more innocents” (Twain 18). Tom shows that he has understanding of how humans work; however, instead of using this insight for just reasons, he wrongly uses it at his own benefit. He shows no sign of remorse nor fear of the consequences. Rather, he uses his gift of intelligence for granted and acts as if it is normal for others finish his work for him. His inability to realize the wrongness in his actions and unwillingness to admit…show more content… First, Tom makes a courageous decision to “take...the stand” (Twain 214) at Muff Potter’s trial. Although guilty, his worry for his own well-being and blood oath with Huck was what had prohibited him from speaking the truth. Both of these factors are related with childhood beliefs. However, Tom changes his mind and decides to do the right thing and prove Potter’s innocence; his will and determination to help Potter enables him to overcome his fear and reach a higher grown-up moral outlook. Not only that, Tom’s action to stand up against evil shows that he has the potential to make the proper decisions and that he will be able to grow up without his contacts with evil demolish his belief in justice and righteousness. Tom takes another huge step towards the adult principled standpoint when he gets lost in the cave with Becky. Because Tom does not “make any marks” (Twain 281) on the wall of the cave, the young couple are unable to find their way back to the entrance. However, once they are lost, Tom springs into exploit. He takes responsibility of his own actions and tenaciously looks for an exit while Becky lay in stupor or slept. He acts confident in front of her to soothe and encourage her to keep moving on although he is afraid himself. Furthermore, he makes empirical measures such as staying near a spring and conserving candles. In the end, his