Contents
Chinese Abstract 2
English Abstract 3
1 Introduction 4
11 Background Information 4
12 Literature Review 5
2 Growth and Transformation of Typical Naughty Boy Tom Sawyer 7
21 The Development of Personality 7
22 The Change of Emotional Attitude 9
23 The Pursuit of Ideal 10
3 The Causes of the Growth and Transformation on Naughty Child 11
31 The Experience of Adventures 11
32 The Formation of Responsibility 12
33 The Growth of Selfconsciousness 13
4 Conclusion 14
References 16
汤姆•索亚历险记中
顽童成长转变
摘
汤姆•索亚历险记作19世纪具影响力作品读者心中占着重文学作品位马克•吐温部分童年记忆说特写作技巧呈现顽童汤姆形象通系列险历汤姆•索亚初顽皮捣蛋勇敢少年意识逐渐成熟顽童终实现身心灵成长变化更加顽强善良返回现实生活中
更深入解顽童形象成长成文首先公汤姆例分析身处环境中举止言行通性发展情感态度转变生理想追求三角度逐步发现顽童变化次文环境素展开探讨分析顽童成长成熟原顽童特定环境够逐渐转变通客观世界适应够逐步调整心态时意识苏醒顽童终确定成长转变步伐
研究顽童成长问题助解顽童形象涵发现顽童特处鼓励解文站童位角度探究顽童成长转变具定创新意义
关键字：顽童成长转变
The Growth and Transformation of Naughty Boys in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Abstract
As one of the most influential works in the 19th century The Adventures of Tom Sawyer occupies an important literary position in readers’ minds Mark Twain uses some childhood memories and novelspecific writing skills to present the image of naughty Tom Through a series of adventures Tom Sawyer grows from naughty to the final brave The selfconsciousness of teenagers is gradually maturing The naughty boy eventually realizes the growth and change of the body and mind and returns to real life kindly and tenaciously
To further understand the causes of the growth of the image of naughty children the paper first takes the protagonist Tom as an example to analyze his behaviors in different environments Through the three aspects of the development of personality emotional attitude change and the pursuit of life ideal it can be gradually found the change of naughty boys Besides the paper discusses the environmental factors and analyzes the reasons for the growth and maturity of urchins Naughty boys can gradually change under certain circumstances and adjust their mentality by adapting to the objective world At the same time the awakening of selfconsciousness makes the urchins finally determine the step of growth and transformation
Studying the problem of the growth of naughty children helps us to discover the connotation of the image of naughty children and find the peculiarities of naughty children to encourage them to understand themselves The paper explores the growth and transformation of naughty children from a childoriented perspective which has a certain innovative significance
Keywords naughty children growth transformation
1 Introduction
11 Background Information
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the representative works of Mark Twain in the late 19th century Tom is a typical image of an American boy pursuing freedom and taking risks The protagonist is created by Mark Twain to subvert the perception of people in children’s literature at that time The naughty boy is not only humorous in words but also rebellious in behaviors For example he despises one who is called good child by adults In all sorts of his mischief and adventures the only purpose is to be recognized as a hero Most people have the stereotype on naughty children Even they are often not accepted by traditional educators or misunderstood by society Therefore the creation and appreciation of naughty children are neglected to some extent lacking relevant theoretical researches Mark Twain creates The Adventures of Tom Sawyer against the background in the great monopoly of American capitalist economy which is of profound historical significance He condenses his childhood experience into the novel and injects his own thoughts combining microcosm of the times It breaks away from the vulgar style of children’s memories and is full of the vitality From contrast and hyperbole the novel satirizes the vulgarity and conservatism of the citizens and the hypocrisy of bourgeoisie From the adventures of the protagonist the author criticizes the social customs hypocritical religious ceremonies and the stereotyped school education in the United States describing the free and lively minds of children in a cheerful tone
111 Purpose and Significance
Naughty boy is the most typical character in children’s literature The naughty child is a child who loves and yearns for freedom Naughty refers to children playing in the game and showing their innate desire for freedom and unrestrained natural instincts It reflects the impulse of children’s life and is the release form of children’s psychological and physical energy The opposite of the urchin is the clever obedient children they are quiet and gentle Therefore urchins are traditionally regarded as naughty and undisciplined children In fact naughty children are neither the problem nor the bad one but full of the spirit of games They are alternative characters which are different from orthodox good children in children’s literature The naughty boy is the protagonist of the game and the spokesman of the spirit of the game
In the children’s literature it is accustomed to thinking only the children in need of education and only to regard education as children’s education while to ignore the usage for educating the adults themselves Due to most of the domestic and foreign scholars’ researches on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in translation character image analysis text writing and aesthetic appeal but the psychological activities personality analysis or behavior characteristics of the characters in the novel are slightly inadequate The paper takes the personality characteristics of naughty children as the basis Tom Sawyer as an example combining with the analysis of his external behavior to internal psychology to analyze the growth and transformation of naughty children which will provide a new perspective for the study of children’s literature In the creation and appreciation of children’s literature the correct treatment of the urchins’ image can exude its unique aesthetic charm With the most obvious nature naughty children are representative of all the children Taking the growth and transformation of Tom Sawyer as an example the analysis of naughty children’s image is based on the definition of children to broaden the scope of traditional cognition towards naughty boys Whether the causes behind their growth are in line with the trend of the evolution of naughty children is worth pondering Through the discussion of children’s behavior and psychology we need to respect children’s interest in their life finding the growth of naughty children We believe that the childoriented view of children’s image can assist educators to protect the precious value of life in children’s mind which helps children never lose their own special visions to the world
12 Literature Review
121 Oversea Research on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Nowadays The Adventures of Tom Sawyer mainly includes the following aspects First of all it is full of humorous narrative techniques With distinctive humor language characteristics and extremely local language style the novel possesses the reputation of the most outstanding work so far in American humor literature The sense of humor is close to life keeping the utmost authenticity with life and reflects in every detail It can be found that Mark Twain is popular in the world because of the universality and humanity of his humor Obviously what the humor presents to us not only just for laughing but for combining irony rationality and tragedy by standing on the basis of humor
Besides it has a strong realistic sense Mark Twain on the other hand embodies reality in words such as glasses and the pulpit in the text which endows the special aesthetic and practical meanings of the concrete object between the lines Sharsha V (2018) emphasizes realism and racism in the article Realism and Racism in Mark Twain’s the Adventures of Tom Sawyer It illustrates the state of racism in the United States and also indicates the discrimination in the real world However the paper lacks an indepth explanation of the relationship between realism and other various concepts If regional elements and realism are integrated it will be more complete in the research of realism and racism
At the same time Mohamad Arli Ramadhani (2013) explores the influence of social and cultural phenomena in southern society on the description of Tom Sawyer’s character In his Character Building of Tom Sawyer in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer identifies sociocultural issues that influence the characters of Tom Sawyer It emphasizes that the biggest reason for character shaping comes from the influence of the social environment So it cannot be simply summarized as the result of some subjective factors He says the fact from other angles such as economic conditions racism or Christian cultural values
In addition the urchin Tom is often compared to another protagonist Unlike Huck the rebellion of the urchin Tom is limited Oriard’s (1980) From Tom Sawyer to Huckleberry Finn Toward Godly Play compares the characteristics of two protagonists and objectively analyzes the differences of them It points out clearly that Tom’s insurgency belongs to a docile rebellion He has learned to value the resources of his family and community and to accept a degree of external authority by going through dangers and mistakes However the article lacks indepth study of the causes In fact after comparing the differences studying the causes can make a better interpretation of the image of the urchins especially on the social objective factors and the subjective emotions of the characters Exploring the cause and effect of the characters helps to understand the deeper creation meaning behind the characters
122 Domestic Research on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
In recent years most domestic scholars have interpreted the novel from the perspectives of Skopos theory functional equivalence theory and ideological theory Moreover it is of great significance for some researchers to do the study from children’s literature translation In On the Translation of Children’s Literature from the Perspective of Skopos Theory A Case Study of Two Chinese Versions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Ma Yanchao (2010) suggests that the basic work of foreign literary translation should be accomplished from the perspective of children themselves Chen Huiyan (2010) emphasizes the importance of a schematic framework in the present stage of humor translation In addition scholars also focus on the image of children in the novel from the perspective of urchins to see the American society at that time In the aspect of Tom Sawyer’s image shaping (Li Shuqin 2013) the most prominent feature of Tom’s image is that he breaks social norms and traditional rules of life enriches his world with his creativity and pursues his dream with an active and independent mind
Chinese scholars also pay considerable attention to Mark Twain’s creation of humor and satire in his novels as well as his selection of narrative point of view As described by Yang Huiyong (2015) in the article which is to analyze the image of Tom Sawyer Tom is an image of a naughty boy in the article He is intelligent and naughty and is different with the unique cunning character of children He is a special existence who possesses the characteristics of good children and bad children In the exploration of the characteristics of naughty boy Tom Qi Yongjiang (1999) says that the erudite naughty boy Tom Sawyer often skips school and is not a good student But in fact he is also a learned naughty boy This contradictory and harmonious feature makes Tom full lovely vivid and true
2 Growth and Transformation of Typical Naughty Boy Tom Sawyer
21 The Development of Personality
The formation and development of children’s personality has to go through a long and complicated process Among them characters and behaviors are the essential embodiment of children’s personality development It can find that Tom Sawyer has some following distinct features of personality
The naughty boy changes into a rebellious boy His mischief behaviors always bring a series of difficulties to his aunt Polly It is interesting that he can always be resourceful to help to smooth the punishments that each mischief brings Because of the pedantic performance of the teacher he laughs at them brazenly at school For the reason of the repressed rules and regulations in the school he would rather skip school or take various adventure activities than pretend to love learning Tom seems out of tune with the whole school What’s more everything with the atmosphere there makes him feel a deep emotion of discomfort as a result of the hatred of restriction and meaningless repetition Mark Twain creates a character Sid who contrasts to Tom He is a child who is completely opposed to Tom He is studious and obedient A really good child loved by adults such as Aunt Polly It is with this sharp contrast that Tom’s rebellious psychology is further aroused making him more disgusted with people and things in this environment From the beginning Tom simply pleases himself with simple naughtiness When he encounters a welldressed little boy on the street Tom feels angry without reason especially in comparison with his clothing It implies the reason for Tom’s rebellious psychology Children should have their original appearance
From a farreaching point of view the reason why Tom’s naughty performance can be understood and admired by people is that what he has done reflects people’s underlying instincts with the desire for freedom and the worship of the wild People always long for freedom admiring birds flying freely in the air and yearning fish swimming in the deep sea But the rules of reality and some sense of selfdiscipline restrict their behavior and spirit And Tom’s performance awakens people’s instincts Tom Sawyer who can break freely from the shackles of the times has his own independent opinion and makes reader gratify in pursuit of freedom
Tom is the clever child Aunt Polly punishes him to whitewash the fence which is originally a hard and boring job and do not match Tom’s playful character But he is smart enough to turn the boring wall whitewashing into an enviable job for children Like it Well I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day he said (Twain 2008 25) His words have stirred every child present Tom not only doesn’t need to finish the boring task on his own but also makes all the children scramble to give anything they have in exchange for a good chance to whiten the wall for him The description of the transfer of the right to brush walls has always been talked about and this plot fully shows Tom’s ingenuity In the early stage of the novel his agility is completely applied to play tricks and as the story progresses such agility and wit paves the way for later growth
The naive boy understands the sense of love gradually Although Tom is a naughty boy he also has a pure and innocent world He thinks painting the wall as a game because everything is interesting and fancy in the eyes of the child This is the biggest difference from an adult Innocent and romantic children always have unspeakable thoughts in their minds Becky a beautiful girl becomes Tom’s sweet secret When they first meet the scene is so romantic that Tom has lost himself He knows he has fallen in love with the girl And Tom seems to know everything about love If boys and girls are engaged they can kiss Tom is also a romantic person The naughty boy understands the preciousness of emotions The emotional germination of Tom and Becky has enriched the teenager’s original simple heart
Unlike other literary works The Adventures of Tom Sawyer lacks a unified plot in the general sense and consists of a series of practical jokes and adventurous stories The coherence of this novel is maintained by the protagonist It can see how naughty and active the boy is and also deeply makes us feel vivid and real characters Even in the solemn church Tom cannot bear to be alone He unleashes a black bug and teases the curly dog which both diverts himself and breaks the gloom of the church Obviously he has gained a lot of fun from this unexpected disturbance Children never get bored with the spirit of the game Naughty children are smart but reckless Because no one is perfect they are always learning and growing up Those behaviors are reflections of their personality
Tom uses the ailment as an excuse to avoid the boring Monday and the child’s hilarious performance is predictable The more he wants to get sick the weaker the pain becomes and his body seems to be working against himself Finally Tom discovers the loose teeth You can see how he reacts At first he groans but no one finds him so he calls louder so that someone could find he has illusions Meanwhile he doesn’t forget to take a few rests for groaning But Sid does not hear sleeps unconsciously That infuriates the hardworking Tom This poor guy who may have lost his teeth or toe’s mortified pushes Sid in order to gain sympathy He shows that he is really in deep pain Of course none of the actions has escaped the fate of going to school Tom Sawyer at this time definitely doesn’t want his teeth to be pulled out However he pretends to suffer from toothache in the hope of playing truant Contrary to his expectations he does not succeed in escaping Tom’s intention to pretend to be ill was clear at a glance Humor certainly is not just based on satire it is one of the correct ways to express feelings Although Tom is always making a fool of himself the author really expresses his love for Tom rather than ridiculing the poor acting skills of the lovely character So the more stupid Tom’s behavior is the more popular he will be with the readers
22 The Change of Emotional Attitude
If growth is formed by physical and psychological changes the transformation of emotional attitude is revealed by psychological changes Although Tom Sawyer is still a carefree boy in the end and his ways of thinking and behavior are the same as those known to readers in the previous chapters of the novel his psychology is growing quietly in the progress of the story It is mainly manifested in the emotional processing of people and things
At the beginning of the novel he is a cunning clever imaginative boy with an intuitive understanding of human nature He hates the rules and regulations bound to him and cannot comply with the various norms of social morality He spends a lot of his personal time playing tricks and games and is never bored He gets used to those troublesome behaviors In this way Tom seldom takes anything seriously and seems to have nothing to worry about As the novel progresses these childish tricks that do not have to bear the consequences at first become more and more serious even some beyond his expectations Tom let himself and his little companions into an increasingly dangerous situation At the same time he finds himself in trouble and he has to put the concern for others above his own considering the consequences when things happen
First he changes a little bit in his attitude towards things The death of Dr Robinson is the first apparent turning point in the story which comes as a shock to Tom He begins to change after he witnesses the incident In this case Tom who is in the lifethreatening situation must decide whether to testify for an innocent person or to let Muff Potter die of unfounded crime Tom is so anxious and guilty about Muff Potter’s fate that he wants Huck to reconsider their oath of secrecy He tries to ease his conscience after visiting Muff Potter in prison but that obviously does not relieve his torment Though his personal safety might be affected Tom still continues to follow his conscience in spite of unknown danger He finally tells the truth in public with sincerity and fearlessness Tom surpasses not only himself but also all the villagers He is the only one who has the courage to condemn Injun Joe morally Tom can grow up and take responsibility as an adult which enables him to defend the rights of others and speak for justice
In addition Tom’s change to the people around him is apparent Tom sneaks home after his first taste of adventure He slips into the room to hide under the bed where he finds several adults feeling sad and blaming themselves for the disappearance of those naughty children The kind Aunt Polly who has lost her loved ones cries loudly which hits the heart of the stubborn child Tom Sawyer He knows that his aunt loves him and cares about him from beginning to end The author shows us the scene of Tom hiding under the bed and listening to adults’ crying The sadder Polly Aunt is the more Tom wants to rush out He begins to realize his importance in adult’s heart When his mind is full of thoughts that he can’t wait to appear to hug these concerned adults it’s obvious that his emotional attitude has changed Tom begins to think about his family’s feelings in a different place He can understand the adult’s concerns and no longer considers himself alone He finds the softest part of his emotions and begins to regret his behavior without considering the consequences Nevertheless this time the urchin makes a visible effort to control him and quietly hides the feelings of adults The sadness is then completely eliminated Even in the fleeting moments of emotional empathy it can be found from subtle changes in the protagonist’s emotional attitude Tom plays as the silent actor under the bed in the most romantic way The comic explanation of the story makes us not judge what has happened in Tom’s mood but feel the quiet change of the little protagonist’s state of mind
23 The Pursuit of Ideal
From the entire story it can be seen that the naughty boy Tom has sublimated in the ideal pursuit from honor of material to maturity of spirit First of all it is his desire for material enviable glory Tom is mischievous in the school looking for every opportunity to skip class His performance is so terrible that the teacher hates such a poor student But this does not affect Tom’s dream of winning honor and working hard by using tricks for it Luckily the cunning boy eventually wins to use his cleverness In order to obtain honor he doesn’t hesitate to give all his favorite toys because in the eyes of other children this is regarded as worthy of jealousy or even bitterness Such a glorious award has become the onceinalifetime event for the school especially for the students who have won the prize In order to obtain it every student has an ambition in his heart Inspired by this sense of honor Tom who cannot even say the names of the twelve disciples exchanges all his treasures for the yellow tickets he needed to get the bible and eventually win the prize
In Sherwood Forest Tom and his friends aspires to be as heroic as Robin Hood and also regret that there are no more Green Forest heroes They would rather be a green man in the forest for a year than a lifetime president of the United States This kind of desire for social fame and honor is Tom’s early pursuit and yearning goal
Gradually the material fame just briefly satisfies children’s curiosity Only after experience can they discover what is really valuable to follow In a number of adventures Tom is not only in peril more than once but even nearly loses his life The naughty boy’s coming forward at a critical moment also reminds us that true courage is not to be simply brave but to overcome fear again and again After witnessing the murder of Injun Joe in the graveyard Tom stays awake all night suffering in fear and finally points out the real murder in court Considering the consequences of losing his life at any time Tom still chooses the righteous side Even with inner fear and entanglement his final choice is unexpectedly impressive
On the emotional side this change in pursuit is even more pronounced Tom shows a preliminary heroism as he endures Becky Thatcher’s emotional punishment Instead of being trapped in a swamp of emotions by a moment of sadness and anger he is able to change his mood and pursue new and more valuable goals It shows the original heroism This heroism fits the romantic chivalry spirit in the book and it manifests itself not as a sudden solution to the real conflict but as a more positive attitude towards the difficulties at hand When Tom and Becky are trapped in a cave his chivalry and ability represent a more meaningful adult version of selfsacrifice and the integrity of caring for others Tom has to grow through the test Tom shows his growing maturity competence and integrity when he begins to take the initiative to help others rather than focus on the entertainment which he gets from his daily trifles
3 The Causes of the Growth and Transformation on Naughty Child
31 The Experience of Adventures
Growth and transformation comes from every experience The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is composed of various kinds of events It is through the social environment in the novel and the experience he has gained in adventures that the naughty boy Tom Sawyer gradually changes and grows up We know that Tom is a child full of personality Games are the knack for seeking pleasure in life and adventures are the embodiment of his free nature Driven by curiosity Tom and his friend Huck want to explore the graveyard together and they happen to encounter a terrible murder The first reaction that Tom has witnessed is the fear and anxiety because it is a matter of life and safety Immediately Tom and Huck run as fast as they can back to the leather factory where they write a blood book and vow to keep the secret From then on the two urchins are extremely heavy in their minds like holding down a big rock It can be found that since witnessing the tragedy the naughty boy’s mentality has transformed Tom is absentminded in the days of keeping the secret even in the old school where he can give full play of his tricks His mind was suffering It is under such a contradictory psychology that he considers not only just the troubles caused by simple jokes and pranks in the past but being involved in social and moral issues that concern himself or others At this time Tom has to make the choice like adults We can also learn from it that an accidental adventure makes the naughty boy become entangled and cautious Even if he does not stop playing in the future the ambivalence that needs to consider and make choices quietly take root in him
When Tom finally chooses to bravely tell the truth and testify the killer people are also surprised that this allout mischief boy in the past can make such a heroic act With this right choice Tom seems to be turning from a naughty boy to a righteous urchin In fact Tom is a child with his own unique perspective on the world Even though he is contrary to society he is still affected by the surroundings This experience is also the product of objective circumstances Then see Tom and his friends on the runaway adventure on Jackson Island They briefly experienced the joy of freedom But temporary freedom cannot bring them longterm enjoyment It doesn’t take long for them to miss home together The stubborn Tom sneaks home alone now he feels the importance of children in the eyes of adults Therefore the more urchins experience the more they can gradually grow and change
Tom and Becky’s adventure in McDougaf Caves has pushed growth to a more mature transition Attracted by the beauty during the picnic Tom decides to explore in the cave and Becky responds to him actively But in a moment the terror and timidity of the child reappears as the two poor little creatures are lost in the darkness of the cave It is not difficult to imagine how frightening it would be to be in a hopeless situation with no way out in the dark But now Tom shows his unusual composure confronting Becky He knows that he can’t be defeated by the difficulties and he comforts the timid girl at the same time If in accordance with the initial personality Tom can completely ignore it and maintain his own mentality And the growth he gains in the adventure requires him to be a man and this time he chooses the latter As he tries to find an exit he encounters the murderer Indian Joe in the dark and is scared and panicked Instead of bringing the terror to his little partner Becky Tom returns to Becky to continue to encourage and accompany her This not only makes Tom’s manhood more complete candid positive and brave in life but also shows a more mature treatment to tackle difficulty in his mind which is the embodiment of the transformation and growth of the naughty boy
32 The Formation of Responsibility
Growth means that one gradually becomes aware of duty for himself Obviously after Tom meeting the girl Becky in the novel he not only gets a taste of vague love but also learns the truth about the responsibility of being a real man His changing emotional attitude towards those people around him also has explained the need not only to take responsibility for his own actions but also to stand up for others when things come necessarily In Chapter 20 the misunderstanding between Tom and Becky is a contradiction between them and the two sides are in a stalemate At this time Becky peeks at the mysterious book that the principal usually locks in a drawer which is accidentally bumped into by Tom She tears the book in panic and makes trouble When the principal begins to investigate on the spot Tom stands up at the critical moment to help the poor girl Not only is Becky admiring such behavior we are also deeply attracted by the urchins in front of us Tom knows that the disagreement between him and Becky is a temporary irresolvable depression but he also knows the principles of responsibility and love clearly In the face of his beloved girl Tom seems to grow up all of a sudden His hazy pursuit of love further inspires his wisdom and spirituality Tom who has always been sloppy in the past begins to pay attention to his own image It is hard to imagine that a naughty boy who is usually crazy like a wild child can know to protect his cherished person And Tom happens to know the adult’s sense of mission and responsibility in gaining love This also provides a new direction for his later personality change
Tom grows up gradually in love His heart is not as scaly and numb as in Huck’s Tom still has good thoughts in his mind and he misses Aunt Polly and the villagers He is afraid that others will worry about his running away home too long Even if he is far away on the small desert island he wants to return to the town Even if naughty Tom plays tricks in front of adults all this is just a means for children to gain adult attention Although Tom is in always a carefree appearance we can still feel in his rich inner world which illustrates that he is a lonely child longing for his parents So Mark Twain creates an amiable aunt for this child She gives Tom a warm experience in some way even though the naughty boy often brings her a sea of troubles Tom Sawyer’s personal growth whether from the naive and impulsive at first full of dissatisfaction with the social environment or in adventures with friends later he constantly accepts and transforms Tom Sawyer uses his own childlike love and responsibility to take risks and find his own growth path
33 The Growth of Selfconsciousness
The growth and transformation of naughty boys is actually the result of the enhancement of selfawareness and the development of independence With the growth of knowledge the broadening of horizons the diversity of interests and the expansion of communications and so on the awareness of teenagers as an independent person has gradually risen This is a period when a new self begins to awaken and they no longer regulate their behaviors entirely through the caress or reproach of their parents They no longer judge their right or wrong behaviors by compliment or criticism of their teachers And they do not guide their actions according to the likes or dislikes of their partners and the approval or disapproval of the surroundings At this time the juvenile selfconsciousness mutates resulting in a sense of adulthood and independence They hope to be respected and recognized by adults long to become an independent person with their own independent and free value existence In the process of growing up children always want to be the true one in the mirror that is the ideal image in their hearts Tom in the novel is a child who like his peers goes to Sundayschool The idol in Tom’s heart is a man in the green forest who acts on justice and leads a life of adventure and excitement But the town of Petersburg looks like a puddle of backwater without ripples stagnant and tedious Life here makes Tom’s ideal impossible to achieve Being too lively and active is an absurd figure in the eyes of residents here Therefore the early rebellion of the naughty Tom is also one of the manifestations of selfconsciousness In his innovative mischief we can see that a teenager’s selfconsciousness develops and matures gradually from emergence to germination which are the development of personality and the pursuit of selfworth that Tom himself is not aware of
With the germination of selfawareness the naughty child Tom’s worldview outlook on life and values are gradually established and he can clearly understand the goals he wants to pursue and determine his future ideals Tom falls into a deep emotional entanglement because of a misunderstanding after his acquaintance with the girl Becky He changes from depression and anger at the beginning to selfdigestion The sentimental boy flees into the forest to contemplate life Fortunately the relaxed and flexible heart of a young person cannot be crammed into a depressed state for long periods of time Tom changes into a selfpursuit mentality Driven by such selfawareness he is able to change his mind in time He intends to be a soldier returning with all scars but great glory or a brave and powerful pirate riding the wind and waves on the rolling sea Great future career plans are more attractive to him than temporary sentimental emotions Tom is also willing to follow the bright future with his better development Thus running away from home the basic option for freedom in his opinion becomes a necessary preparation When he dreams about being a great outlaw Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest Tom and his friends regret that there are no more famous heroes The two partners agree to be a Robin Hood in the forest for a year rather than a lifelong president of the United States The desire for freedom can be said to be one of the results in the growth of Tom’s selfconsciousness
4 Conclusion
In the novel the urchin Tom Sawyer is not an ideologically bad urchin but a character with multiple implications His characteristic is obviously outstanding In the rigid life Tom not only has to cope with the tedious work the teacher’s false dogma but also avoids his aunt’s strict discipline Tom is a typical naughty boy with his playfulness and naughtiness at the beginning He is the troublesome character in life and in some ways he is the mirror which reflects the shadow of each of us in childhood In the meantime after a series of storms his selfconsciousness begins to wake up Naughty children are aware of what choices to make under what kinds of circumstances They like adults have their own world and rights to choose They will be confused eager for selfindependence but constrained by adults society and traditional authority In reality naughty children are not welcome in adults’ eyes Because of living in a hypocritical society the urchin cannot accept hypocrisy but pursue reality of life This is also the conflict between naughty children and objective world in the process of growing up and transformation As a result the urchins resist authority and challenge established social conventions Even Tom hides a simple and righteous childlike innocence beneath his sensitive and thoughtful appearance Their confusion and thinking about life are signs of their maturity The Adventures of Tom Sawyer narrates the transformation and growth of teenagers’ selfconsciousness in the form of several adventures experienced by Tom and his partners The experience of those adventures can help them enter the adult world truly and figure out the goals or ideals confidently After a series of baptism of life these teenagers will return to real life with tenacity and independence We need to believe that the naughty boy is not the uneducated child on the contrary his essence is virtuous and adorable
References
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Contents
Chinese Abstract 2
English Abstract 3
1 Introduction 4
11 Background Information 4
12 Literature Review 5
2 Growth and Transformation of Typical Naughty Boy Tom Sawyer 7
21 The Development of Personality 7
22 The Change of Emotional Attitude 9
23 The Pursuit of Ideal 10
3 The Causes of the Growth and Transformation on Naughty Child 11
31 The Experience of Adventures 11
32 The Formation of Responsibility 12
33 The Growth of Selfconsciousness 13
4 Conclusion 14
References 16
汤姆•索亚历险记中
顽童成长转变
摘
汤姆•索亚历险记作19世纪具影响力作品读者心中占着重文学作品位马克•吐温部分童年记忆说特写作技巧呈现顽童汤姆形象通系列险历汤姆•索亚初顽皮捣蛋勇敢少年意识逐渐成熟顽童终实现身心灵成长变化更加顽强善良返回现实生活中
更深入解顽童形象成长成文首先公汤姆例分析身处环境中举止言行通性发展情感态度转变生理想追求三角度逐步发现顽童变化次文环境素展开探讨分析顽童成长成熟原顽童特定环境够逐渐转变通客观世界适应够逐步调整心态时意识苏醒顽童终确定成长转变步伐
研究顽童成长问题助解顽童形象涵发现顽童特处鼓励解文站童位角度探究顽童成长转变具定创新意义
关键字：顽童成长转变
The Growth and Transformation of Naughty Boys in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Abstract
As one of the most influential works in the 19th century The Adventures of Tom Sawyer occupies an important literary position in readers’ minds Mark Twain uses some childhood memories and novelspecific writing skills to present the image of naughty Tom Through a series of adventures Tom Sawyer grows from naughty to the final brave The selfconsciousness of teenagers is gradually maturing The naughty boy eventually realizes the growth and change of the body and mind and returns to real life kindly and tenaciously
To further understand the causes of the growth of the image of naughty children the paper first takes the protagonist Tom as an example to analyze his behaviors in different environments Through the three aspects of the development of personality emotional attitude change and the pursuit of life ideal it can be gradually found the change of naughty boys Besides the paper discusses the environmental factors and analyzes the reasons for the growth and maturity of urchins Naughty boys can gradually change under certain circumstances and adjust their mentality by adapting to the objective world At the same time the awakening of selfconsciousness makes the urchins finally determine the step of growth and transformation
Studying the problem of the growth of naughty children helps us to discover the connotation of the image of naughty children and find the peculiarities of naughty children to encourage them to understand themselves The paper explores the growth and transformation of naughty children from a childoriented perspective which has a certain innovative significance
Keywords naughty children growth transformation
1 Introduction
11 Background Information
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is the representative works of Mark Twain in the late 19th century Tom is a typical image of an American boy pursuing freedom and taking risks The protagonist is created by Mark Twain to subvert the perception of people in children’s literature at that time The naughty boy is not only humorous in words but also rebellious in behaviors For example he despises one who is called good child by adults In all sorts of his mischief and adventures the only purpose is to be recognized as a hero Most people have the stereotype on naughty children Even they are often not accepted by traditional educators or misunderstood by society Therefore the creation and appreciation of naughty children are neglected to some extent lacking relevant theoretical researches Mark Twain creates The Adventures of Tom Sawyer against the background in the great monopoly of American capitalist economy which is of profound historical significance He condenses his childhood experience into the novel and injects his own thoughts combining microcosm of the times It breaks away from the vulgar style of children’s memories and is full of the vitality From contrast and hyperbole the novel satirizes the vulgarity and conservatism of the citizens and the hypocrisy of bourgeoisie From the adventures of the protagonist the author criticizes the social customs hypocritical religious ceremonies and the stereotyped school education in the United States describing the free and lively minds of children in a cheerful tone
111 Purpose and Significance
Naughty boy is the most typical character in children’s literature The naughty child is a child who loves and yearns for freedom Naughty refers to children playing in the game and showing their innate desire for freedom and unrestrained natural instincts It reflects the impulse of children’s life and is the release form of children’s psychological and physical energy The opposite of the urchin is the clever obedient children they are quiet and gentle Therefore urchins are traditionally regarded as naughty and undisciplined children In fact naughty children are neither the problem nor the bad one but full of the spirit of games They are alternative characters which are different from orthodox good children in children’s literature The naughty boy is the protagonist of the game and the spokesman of the spirit of the game
In the children’s literature it is accustomed to thinking only the children in need of education and only to regard education as children’s education while to ignore the usage for educating the adults themselves Due to most of the domestic and foreign scholars’ researches on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in translation character image analysis text writing and aesthetic appeal but the psychological activities personality analysis or behavior characteristics of the characters in the novel are slightly inadequate The paper takes the personality characteristics of naughty children as the basis Tom Sawyer as an example combining with the analysis of his external behavior to internal psychology to analyze the growth and transformation of naughty children which will provide a new perspective for the study of children’s literature In the creation and appreciation of children’s literature the correct treatment of the urchins’ image can exude its unique aesthetic charm With the most obvious nature naughty children are representative of all the children Taking the growth and transformation of Tom Sawyer as an example the analysis of naughty children’s image is based on the definition of children to broaden the scope of traditional cognition towards naughty boys Whether the causes behind their growth are in line with the trend of the evolution of naughty children is worth pondering Through the discussion of children’s behavior and psychology we need to respect children’s interest in their life finding the growth of naughty children We believe that the childoriented view of children’s image can assist educators to protect the precious value of life in children’s mind which helps children never lose their own special visions to the world
12 Literature Review
121 Oversea Research on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Nowadays The Adventures of Tom Sawyer mainly includes the following aspects First of all it is full of humorous narrative techniques With distinctive humor language characteristics and extremely local language style the novel possesses the reputation of the most outstanding work so far in American humor literature The sense of humor is close to life keeping the utmost authenticity with life and reflects in every detail It can be found that Mark Twain is popular in the world because of the universality and humanity of his humor Obviously what the humor presents to us not only just for laughing but for combining irony rationality and tragedy by standing on the basis of humor
Besides it has a strong realistic sense Mark Twain on the other hand embodies reality in words such as glasses and the pulpit in the text which endows the special aesthetic and practical meanings of the concrete object between the lines Sharsha V (2018) emphasizes realism and racism in the article Realism and Racism in Mark Twain’s the Adventures of Tom Sawyer It illustrates the state of racism in the United States and also indicates the discrimination in the real world However the paper lacks an indepth explanation of the relationship between realism and other various concepts If regional elements and realism are integrated it will be more complete in the research of realism and racism
At the same time Mohamad Arli Ramadhani (2013) explores the influence of social and cultural phenomena in southern society on the description of Tom Sawyer’s character In his Character Building of Tom Sawyer in Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer identifies sociocultural issues that influence the characters of Tom Sawyer It emphasizes that the biggest reason for character shaping comes from the influence of the social environment So it cannot be simply summarized as the result of some subjective factors He says the fact from other angles such as economic conditions racism or Christian cultural values
In addition the urchin Tom is often compared to another protagonist Unlike Huck the rebellion of the urchin Tom is limited Oriard’s (1980) From Tom Sawyer to Huckleberry Finn Toward Godly Play compares the characteristics of two protagonists and objectively analyzes the differences of them It points out clearly that Tom’s insurgency belongs to a docile rebellion He has learned to value the resources of his family and community and to accept a degree of external authority by going through dangers and mistakes However the article lacks indepth study of the causes In fact after comparing the differences studying the causes can make a better interpretation of the image of the urchins especially on the social objective factors and the subjective emotions of the characters Exploring the cause and effect of the characters helps to understand the deeper creation meaning behind the characters
122 Domestic Research on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
In recent years most domestic scholars have interpreted the novel from the perspectives of Skopos theory functional equivalence theory and ideological theory Moreover it is of great significance for some researchers to do the study from children’s literature translation In On the Translation of Children’s Literature from the Perspective of Skopos Theory A Case Study of Two Chinese Versions of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Ma Yanchao (2010) suggests that the basic work of foreign literary translation should be accomplished from the perspective of children themselves Chen Huiyan (2010) emphasizes the importance of a schematic framework in the present stage of humor translation In addition scholars also focus on the image of children in the novel from the perspective of urchins to see the American society at that time In the aspect of Tom Sawyer’s image shaping (Li Shuqin 2013) the most prominent feature of Tom’s image is that he breaks social norms and traditional rules of life enriches his world with his creativity and pursues his dream with an active and independent mind
Chinese scholars also pay considerable attention to Mark Twain’s creation of humor and satire in his novels as well as his selection of narrative point of view As described by Yang Huiyong (2015) in the article which is to analyze the image of Tom Sawyer Tom is an image of a naughty boy in the article He is intelligent and naughty and is different with the unique cunning character of children He is a special existence who possesses the characteristics of good children and bad children In the exploration of the characteristics of naughty boy Tom Qi Yongjiang (1999) says that the erudite naughty boy Tom Sawyer often skips school and is not a good student But in fact he is also a learned naughty boy This contradictory and harmonious feature makes Tom full lovely vivid and true
2 Growth and Transformation of Typical Naughty Boy Tom Sawyer
21 The Development of Personality
The formation and development of children’s personality has to go through a long and complicated process Among them characters and behaviors are the essential embodiment of children’s personality development It can find that Tom Sawyer has some following distinct features of personality
The naughty boy changes into a rebellious boy His mischief behaviors always bring a series of difficulties to his aunt Polly It is interesting that he can always be resourceful to help to smooth the punishments that each mischief brings Because of the pedantic performance of the teacher he laughs at them brazenly at school For the reason of the repressed rules and regulations in the school he would rather skip school or take various adventure activities than pretend to love learning Tom seems out of tune with the whole school What’s more everything with the atmosphere there makes him feel a deep emotion of discomfort as a result of the hatred of restriction and meaningless repetition Mark Twain creates a character Sid who contrasts to Tom He is a child who is completely opposed to Tom He is studious and obedient A really good child loved by adults such as Aunt Polly It is with this sharp contrast that Tom’s rebellious psychology is further aroused making him more disgusted with people and things in this environment From the beginning Tom simply pleases himself with simple naughtiness When he encounters a welldressed little boy on the street Tom feels angry without reason especially in comparison with his clothing It implies the reason for Tom’s rebellious psychology Children should have their original appearance
From a farreaching point of view the reason why Tom’s naughty performance can be understood and admired by people is that what he has done reflects people’s underlying instincts with the desire for freedom and the worship of the wild People always long for freedom admiring birds flying freely in the air and yearning fish swimming in the deep sea But the rules of reality and some sense of selfdiscipline restrict their behavior and spirit And Tom’s performance awakens people’s instincts Tom Sawyer who can break freely from the shackles of the times has his own independent opinion and makes reader gratify in pursuit of freedom
Tom is the clever child Aunt Polly punishes him to whitewash the fence which is originally a hard and boring job and do not match Tom’s playful character But he is smart enough to turn the boring wall whitewashing into an enviable job for children Like it Well I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day he said (Twain 2008 25) His words have stirred every child present Tom not only doesn’t need to finish the boring task on his own but also makes all the children scramble to give anything they have in exchange for a good chance to whiten the wall for him The description of the transfer of the right to brush walls has always been talked about and this plot fully shows Tom’s ingenuity In the early stage of the novel his agility is completely applied to play tricks and as the story progresses such agility and wit paves the way for later growth
The naive boy understands the sense of love gradually Although Tom is a naughty boy he also has a pure and innocent world He thinks painting the wall as a game because everything is interesting and fancy in the eyes of the child This is the biggest difference from an adult Innocent and romantic children always have unspeakable thoughts in their minds Becky a beautiful girl becomes Tom’s sweet secret When they first meet the scene is so romantic that Tom has lost himself He knows he has fallen in love with the girl And Tom seems to know everything about love If boys and girls are engaged they can kiss Tom is also a romantic person The naughty boy understands the preciousness of emotions The emotional germination of Tom and Becky has enriched the teenager’s original simple heart
Unlike other literary works The Adventures of Tom Sawyer lacks a unified plot in the general sense and consists of a series of practical jokes and adventurous stories The coherence of this novel is maintained by the protagonist It can see how naughty and active the boy is and also deeply makes us feel vivid and real characters Even in the solemn church Tom cannot bear to be alone He unleashes a black bug and teases the curly dog which both diverts himself and breaks the gloom of the church Obviously he has gained a lot of fun from this unexpected disturbance Children never get bored with the spirit of the game Naughty children are smart but reckless Because no one is perfect they are always learning and growing up Those behaviors are reflections of their personality
Tom uses the ailment as an excuse to avoid the boring Monday and the child’s hilarious performance is predictable The more he wants to get sick the weaker the pain becomes and his body seems to be working against himself Finally Tom discovers the loose teeth You can see how he reacts At first he groans but no one finds him so he calls louder so that someone could find he has illusions Meanwhile he doesn’t forget to take a few rests for groaning But Sid does not hear sleeps unconsciously That infuriates the hardworking Tom This poor guy who may have lost his teeth or toe’s mortified pushes Sid in order to gain sympathy He shows that he is really in deep pain Of course none of the actions has escaped the fate of going to school Tom Sawyer at this time definitely doesn’t want his teeth to be pulled out However he pretends to suffer from toothache in the hope of playing truant Contrary to his expectations he does not succeed in escaping Tom’s intention to pretend to be ill was clear at a glance Humor certainly is not just based on satire it is one of the correct ways to express feelings Although Tom is always making a fool of himself the author really expresses his love for Tom rather than ridiculing the poor acting skills of the lovely character So the more stupid Tom’s behavior is the more popular he will be with the readers
22 The Change of Emotional Attitude
If growth is formed by physical and psychological changes the transformation of emotional attitude is revealed by psychological changes Although Tom Sawyer is still a carefree boy in the end and his ways of thinking and behavior are the same as those known to readers in the previous chapters of the novel his psychology is growing quietly in the progress of the story It is mainly manifested in the emotional processing of people and things
At the beginning of the novel he is a cunning clever imaginative boy with an intuitive understanding of human nature He hates the rules and regulations bound to him and cannot comply with the various norms of social morality He spends a lot of his personal time playing tricks and games and is never bored He gets used to those troublesome behaviors In this way Tom seldom takes anything seriously and seems to have nothing to worry about As the novel progresses these childish tricks that do not have to bear the consequences at first become more and more serious even some beyond his expectations Tom let himself and his little companions into an increasingly dangerous situation At the same time he finds himself in trouble and he has to put the concern for others above his own considering the consequences when things happen
First he changes a little bit in his attitude towards things The death of Dr Robinson is the first apparent turning point in the story which comes as a shock to Tom He begins to change after he witnesses the incident In this case Tom who is in the lifethreatening situation must decide whether to testify for an innocent person or to let Muff Potter die of unfounded crime Tom is so anxious and guilty about Muff Potter’s fate that he wants Huck to reconsider their oath of secrecy He tries to ease his conscience after visiting Muff Potter in prison but that obviously does not relieve his torment Though his personal safety might be affected Tom still continues to follow his conscience in spite of unknown danger He finally tells the truth in public with sincerity and fearlessness Tom surpasses not only himself but also all the villagers He is the only one who has the courage to condemn Injun Joe morally Tom can grow up and take responsibility as an adult which enables him to defend the rights of others and speak for justice
In addition Tom’s change to the people around him is apparent Tom sneaks home after his first taste of adventure He slips into the room to hide under the bed where he finds several adults feeling sad and blaming themselves for the disappearance of those naughty children The kind Aunt Polly who has lost her loved ones cries loudly which hits the heart of the stubborn child Tom Sawyer He knows that his aunt loves him and cares about him from beginning to end The author shows us the scene of Tom hiding under the bed and listening to adults’ crying The sadder Polly Aunt is the more Tom wants to rush out He begins to realize his importance in adult’s heart When his mind is full of thoughts that he can’t wait to appear to hug these concerned adults it’s obvious that his emotional attitude has changed Tom begins to think about his family’s feelings in a different place He can understand the adult’s concerns and no longer considers himself alone He finds the softest part of his emotions and begins to regret his behavior without considering the consequences Nevertheless this time the urchin makes a visible effort to control him and quietly hides the feelings of adults The sadness is then completely eliminated Even in the fleeting moments of emotional empathy it can be found from subtle changes in the protagonist’s emotional attitude Tom plays as the silent actor under the bed in the most romantic way The comic explanation of the story makes us not judge what has happened in Tom’s mood but feel the quiet change of the little protagonist’s state of mind
23 The Pursuit of Ideal
From the entire story it can be seen that the naughty boy Tom has sublimated in the ideal pursuit from honor of material to maturity of spirit First of all it is his desire for material enviable glory Tom is mischievous in the school looking for every opportunity to skip class His performance is so terrible that the teacher hates such a poor student But this does not affect Tom’s dream of winning honor and working hard by using tricks for it Luckily the cunning boy eventually wins to use his cleverness In order to obtain honor he doesn’t hesitate to give all his favorite toys because in the eyes of other children this is regarded as worthy of jealousy or even bitterness Such a glorious award has become the onceinalifetime event for the school especially for the students who have won the prize In order to obtain it every student has an ambition in his heart Inspired by this sense of honor Tom who cannot even say the names of the twelve disciples exchanges all his treasures for the yellow tickets he needed to get the bible and eventually win the prize
In Sherwood Forest Tom and his friends aspires to be as heroic as Robin Hood and also regret that there are no more Green Forest heroes They would rather be a green man in the forest for a year than a lifetime president of the United States This kind of desire for social fame and honor is Tom’s early pursuit and yearning goal
Gradually the material fame just briefly satisfies children’s curiosity Only after experience can they discover what is really valuable to follow In a number of adventures Tom is not only in peril more than once but even nearly loses his life The naughty boy’s coming forward at a critical moment also reminds us that true courage is not to be simply brave but to overcome fear again and again After witnessing the murder of Injun Joe in the graveyard Tom stays awake all night suffering in fear and finally points out the real murder in court Considering the consequences of losing his life at any time Tom still chooses the righteous side Even with inner fear and entanglement his final choice is unexpectedly impressive
On the emotional side this change in pursuit is even more pronounced Tom shows a preliminary heroism as he endures Becky Thatcher’s emotional punishment Instead of being trapped in a swamp of emotions by a moment of sadness and anger he is able to change his mood and pursue new and more valuable goals It shows the original heroism This heroism fits the romantic chivalry spirit in the book and it manifests itself not as a sudden solution to the real conflict but as a more positive attitude towards the difficulties at hand When Tom and Becky are trapped in a cave his chivalry and ability represent a more meaningful adult version of selfsacrifice and the integrity of caring for others Tom has to grow through the test Tom shows his growing maturity competence and integrity when he begins to take the initiative to help others rather than focus on the entertainment which he gets from his daily trifles
3 The Causes of the Growth and Transformation on Naughty Child
31 The Experience of Adventures
Growth and transformation comes from every experience The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is composed of various kinds of events It is through the social environment in the novel and the experience he has gained in adventures that the naughty boy Tom Sawyer gradually changes and grows up We know that Tom is a child full of personality Games are the knack for seeking pleasure in life and adventures are the embodiment of his free nature Driven by curiosity Tom and his friend Huck want to explore the graveyard together and they happen to encounter a terrible murder The first reaction that Tom has witnessed is the fear and anxiety because it is a matter of life and safety Immediately Tom and Huck run as fast as they can back to the leather factory where they write a blood book and vow to keep the secret From then on the two urchins are extremely heavy in their minds like holding down a big rock It can be found that since witnessing the tragedy the naughty boy’s mentality has transformed Tom is absentminded in the days of keeping the secret even in the old school where he can give full play of his tricks His mind was suffering It is under such a contradictory psychology that he considers not only just the troubles caused by simple jokes and pranks in the past but being involved in social and moral issues that concern himself or others At this time Tom has to make the choice like adults We can also learn from it that an accidental adventure makes the naughty boy become entangled and cautious Even if he does not stop playing in the future the ambivalence that needs to consider and make choices quietly take root in him
When Tom finally chooses to bravely tell the truth and testify the killer people are also surprised that this allout mischief boy in the past can make such a heroic act With this right choice Tom seems to be turning from a naughty boy to a righteous urchin In fact Tom is a child with his own unique perspective on the world Even though he is contrary to society he is still affected by the surroundings This experience is also the product of objective circumstances Then see Tom and his friends on the runaway adventure on Jackson Island They briefly experienced the joy of freedom But temporary freedom cannot bring them longterm enjoyment It doesn’t take long for them to miss home together The stubborn Tom sneaks home alone now he feels the importance of children in the eyes of adults Therefore the more urchins experience the more they can gradually grow and change
Tom and Becky’s adventure in McDougaf Caves has pushed growth to a more mature transition Attracted by the beauty during the picnic Tom decides to explore in the cave and Becky responds to him actively But in a moment the terror and timidity of the child reappears as the two poor little creatures are lost in the darkness of the cave It is not difficult to imagine how frightening it would be to be in a hopeless situation with no way out in the dark But now Tom shows his unusual composure confronting Becky He knows that he can’t be defeated by the difficulties and he comforts the timid girl at the same time If in accordance with the initial personality Tom can completely ignore it and maintain his own mentality And the growth he gains in the adventure requires him to be a man and this time he chooses the latter As he tries to find an exit he encounters the murderer Indian Joe in the dark and is scared and panicked Instead of bringing the terror to his little partner Becky Tom returns to Becky to continue to encourage and accompany her This not only makes Tom’s manhood more complete candid positive and brave in life but also shows a more mature treatment to tackle difficulty in his mind which is the embodiment of the transformation and growth of the naughty boy
32 The Formation of Responsibility
Growth means that one gradually becomes aware of duty for himself Obviously after Tom meeting the girl Becky in the novel he not only gets a taste of vague love but also learns the truth about the responsibility of being a real man His changing emotional attitude towards those people around him also has explained the need not only to take responsibility for his own actions but also to stand up for others when things come necessarily In Chapter 20 the misunderstanding between Tom and Becky is a contradiction between them and the two sides are in a stalemate At this time Becky peeks at the mysterious book that the principal usually locks in a drawer which is accidentally bumped into by Tom She tears the book in panic and makes trouble When the principal begins to investigate on the spot Tom stands up at the critical moment to help the poor girl Not only is Becky admiring such behavior we are also deeply attracted by the urchins in front of us Tom knows that the disagreement between him and Becky is a temporary irresolvable depression but he also knows the principles of responsibility and love clearly In the face of his beloved girl Tom seems to grow up all of a sudden His hazy pursuit of love further inspires his wisdom and spirituality Tom who has always been sloppy in the past begins to pay attention to his own image It is hard to imagine that a naughty boy who is usually crazy like a wild child can know to protect his cherished person And Tom happens to know the adult’s sense of mission and responsibility in gaining love This also provides a new direction for his later personality change
Tom grows up gradually in love His heart is not as scaly and numb as in Huck’s Tom still has good thoughts in his mind and he misses Aunt Polly and the villagers He is afraid that others will worry about his running away home too long Even if he is far away on the small desert island he wants to return to the town Even if naughty Tom plays tricks in front of adults all this is just a means for children to gain adult attention Although Tom is in always a carefree appearance we can still feel in his rich inner world which illustrates that he is a lonely child longing for his parents So Mark Twain creates an amiable aunt for this child She gives Tom a warm experience in some way even though the naughty boy often brings her a sea of troubles Tom Sawyer’s personal growth whether from the naive and impulsive at first full of dissatisfaction with the social environment or in adventures with friends later he constantly accepts and transforms Tom Sawyer uses his own childlike love and responsibility to take risks and find his own growth path
33 The Growth of Selfconsciousness
The growth and transformation of naughty boys is actually the result of the enhancement of selfawareness and the development of independence With the growth of knowledge the broadening of horizons the diversity of interests and the expansion of communications and so on the awareness of teenagers as an independent person has gradually risen This is a period when a new self begins to awaken and they no longer regulate their behaviors entirely through the caress or reproach of their parents They no longer judge their right or wrong behaviors by compliment or criticism of their teachers And they do not guide their actions according to the likes or dislikes of their partners and the approval or disapproval of the surroundings At this time the juvenile selfconsciousness mutates resulting in a sense of adulthood and independence They hope to be respected and recognized by adults long to become an independent person with their own independent and free value existence In the process of growing up children always want to be the true one in the mirror that is the ideal image in their hearts Tom in the novel is a child who like his peers goes to Sundayschool The idol in Tom’s heart is a man in the green forest who acts on justice and leads a life of adventure and excitement But the town of Petersburg looks like a puddle of backwater without ripples stagnant and tedious Life here makes Tom’s ideal impossible to achieve Being too lively and active is an absurd figure in the eyes of residents here Therefore the early rebellion of the naughty Tom is also one of the manifestations of selfconsciousness In his innovative mischief we can see that a teenager’s selfconsciousness develops and matures gradually from emergence to germination which are the development of personality and the pursuit of selfworth that Tom himself is not aware of
With the germination of selfawareness the naughty child Tom’s worldview outlook on life and values are gradually established and he can clearly understand the goals he wants to pursue and determine his future ideals Tom falls into a deep emotional entanglement because of a misunderstanding after his acquaintance with the girl Becky He changes from depression and anger at the beginning to selfdigestion The sentimental boy flees into the forest to contemplate life Fortunately the relaxed and flexible heart of a young person cannot be crammed into a depressed state for long periods of time Tom changes into a selfpursuit mentality Driven by such selfawareness he is able to change his mind in time He intends to be a soldier returning with all scars but great glory or a brave and powerful pirate riding the wind and waves on the rolling sea Great future career plans are more attractive to him than temporary sentimental emotions Tom is also willing to follow the bright future with his better development Thus running away from home the basic option for freedom in his opinion becomes a necessary preparation When he dreams about being a great outlaw Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest Tom and his friends regret that there are no more famous heroes The two partners agree to be a Robin Hood in the forest for a year rather than a lifelong president of the United States The desire for freedom can be said to be one of the results in the growth of Tom’s selfconsciousness
4 Conclusion
In the novel the urchin Tom Sawyer is not an ideologically bad urchin but a character with multiple implications His characteristic is obviously outstanding In the rigid life Tom not only has to cope with the tedious work the teacher’s false dogma but also avoids his aunt’s strict discipline Tom is a typical naughty boy with his playfulness and naughtiness at the beginning He is the troublesome character in life and in some ways he is the mirror which reflects the shadow of each of us in childhood In the meantime after a series of storms his selfconsciousness begins to wake up Naughty children are aware of what choices to make under what kinds of circumstances They like adults have their own world and rights to choose They will be confused eager for selfindependence but constrained by adults society and traditional authority In reality naughty children are not welcome in adults’ eyes Because of living in a hypocritical society the urchin cannot accept hypocrisy but pursue reality of life This is also the conflict between naughty children and objective world in the process of growing up and transformation As a result the urchins resist authority and challenge established social conventions Even Tom hides a simple and righteous childlike innocence beneath his sensitive and thoughtful appearance Their confusion and thinking about life are signs of their maturity The Adventures of Tom Sawyer narrates the transformation and growth of teenagers’ selfconsciousness in the form of several adventures experienced by Tom and his partners The experience of those adventures can help them enter the adult world truly and figure out the goals or ideals confidently After a series of baptism of life these teenagers will return to real life with tenacity and independence We need to believe that the naughty boy is not the uneducated child on the contrary his essence is virtuous and adorable
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