Sunday, July 31, 2011

What are the conflicts in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twin?

There are a number of the different types of conflicts in the novel.


Man vs. Man:


Tom has adversarial relationships with a number of different characters throughout the novel. The big man vs. man conflict of the novel is between Tom and Injun Joe, since Tom knows about Injun Joe's role in the murder and testifies against him. However, Tom can also be at odds with Becky and Aunt Polly at times in the novel, such as when he and Becky are trying to make each other jealous or when Aunt Polly is punishing him for one of his many exploits. 


Man vs. Nature:


As a kid who roams free through nature during a lot of his childhood, it is to be expected that nature sometimes causes conflict. A major example of this is when Tom is trapped in the caves. Another is the storm on Jackson Island, when a tree is knock right into the boys' camp. 


Man vs. Society:


This conflict is common for Tom, who often scorns what he needs to do to be "respectable," such as wearing shoes and going to church. The conflict is even more important for Huck, though, whom the Widow Douglas attempts to civilize at the end of the book. This is torment for Huck, who is accustomed to living in a wild and free way that makes him an outcast. Though he doesn't like being mistreated, he struggles to act in a way that society can accept.  

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