Why did Mark Twain make Tom Sawyer?
Mark Twain (Pen name for Samuel Clemens) published “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” in 1876. He created Tom to show everyday life as it was during his boyhood in the south before the Civil War.BackgroundBy 1876, Twain was already well-known for his humor, satire, short stories and social criticism.HistoryTwain based the stories and characters in “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” on his youth in Hannibal, Missouri.Theories/SpeculationThe character of Tom Sawyer is probably a combination of Twain and two of his childhood friends.StorylineThrough Tom Sawyer, Twain used the stories to paint a picture of pre-Civil War era. He referred to those times in the book as “those old simple days.” In reality, life was not as simple, as Tom soon finds out.ConsiderationsTom Sawyer served as a catalyst for social criticism by introducing readers to Huckleberry Finn. Twain’s “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” published in 1884, is considered by most critics to be his finest work. It paints a vivid picture
