The Adventures of Tom Sawyer · Chapter
Huck Finn Quotes Scriptures explained
Tom joins the Cadets of Temperance but finds that promising not to do something only makes him want to do it more.
What happens
Tom joins the Cadets of Temperance but finds that promising not to do something only makes him want to do it more. He resigns after the judge he hoped would die recovers, then dies. Tom enjoys his freedom but soon finds life dull. A revival sweeps the town, and everyone gets religion, leaving Tom feeling isolated. Even Huck Finn greets him with a Scripture quotation, breaking Tom's spirit. A terrible storm terrifies Tom, who thinks it is divine punishment. He later relapses into illness, and upon recovery finds his friends have also relapsed into their old ways.
Themes in this chapter
Morality and Conscience
Tom's internal struggle with his promise to abstain from vices and his guilt over the murder secret highlight the theme of conscience.
Childhood vs. Adulthood
Tom's boredom with freedom and the town's revival reflect the tension between childish mischief and adult religious expectations.
Fear and Courage
Tom's terror during the storm, believing it is divine punishment, illustrates the theme of fear.
Characters to notice
- Tom Sawyer
Joins the Cadets of Temperance, struggles with forbidden desires, resigns, feels bored and isolated during the revival, and suffers a relapse of measles.
- Huckleberry Finn
Greets Tom with a Scriptural quotation, later found eating a stolen melon with Joe Harper after a relapse.
- Joe Harper
Performs with Tom in a minstrel show, studies a Testament during the revival, and later relapses into mischief.
- Becky Thatcher
Is away visiting her parents in Constantinople during vacation, leaving Tom without a bright side to life.
- Ben Rogers
Found visiting the poor with a basket of tracts during the revival.
- Jim Hollis
Calls Tom's attention to the blessing of his measles, later acts as judge in a juvenile court trying a cat for murder.
Key passages
“Tom soon found himself tormented with a desire to drink and swear; the desire grew to be so intense that nothing but the hope of a chance to display himself in his red sash kept him from withdrawing from the order.”
Tom was so tempted to drink and swear that only the prospect of wearing his flashy red sash in public prevented him from quitting the Cadets.
Illustrates Tom's struggle with forbidden desires and the irony of temperance.
“The simple fact that he could, took the desire away, and the charm of it.”
Once Tom realized he was free to drink and swear, he no longer wanted to.
Highlights the psychological effect of restriction versus freedom.
“He believed he had taxed the forbearance of the powers above to the extremity of endurance and that this was the result.”
Tom thought the storm was divine punishment for his sins, believing he had pushed God too far.
Shows Tom's superstitious fear and guilt over the murder secret.