From the moment you open the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain makes you sneer at how clever teenage boys can actually be. Tom Sawyer, an infamous kid genius is a truly inspiring character to those as sarcastic, witty, and lazy as myself. Through his mischievous acts of defiance, such as playing hooky to go swimming, or tricking a peer into whitewashing a fence for him, Sawyer establishes himself as a very cunning teenage boy. While parts may often feel incomplete, with a second read over to clear things up, it’s easier to see that Twain typically does an adequate job explaining his book. On a more deep level, the average reader, especially myself, is able to find some sort of connection with Sawyer, ranging from his positive attitude towards life, or his family and relationships which have their own troubles.
Although I am thoroughly enjoy this book, I do have my own critiques. Despite being less than halfway through the book, I have reread many parts over and over out of pure misunderstanding of what Twain was saying. Given it’s age, however, it makes sense that understanding might be weak; the current generation is vastly different than the mid 1800’s generation. As aforementioned, the book is someone hard to follow which is a growing problem since vocabulary is ever changing. Many words in this book have been long out of use, and although you can make sense of most of them, it still adds a layer of difficulty to the book. Overall, reading parts of this book have been a positively challenging experience, which I would recommend to anyone who wants a humorous or enjoyable read. Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain has created a wonderfully constructed classic novel that appeals to everyone.
