Caleb Casey
Mrs. Gardner
English
November 13, 2011
Tom Sawyer And His Perilous Feats In the novel The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer, written by Mark Twain, the main character, Tom Sawyer and his partner in crime, Huckleberry Finn, take part in many adventures. Some are fun adventures while others are risky perils. In these adventures, Tom will exaggerate many things to get people to feel sorry for him; however, there are many times when Tom does actually face danger. This is when he must act fast to make it out alive. Three times when Tom’s adventures threaten him are: the lightning storm on Jackson’s Island, when Injun Joe shows up at the haunted house, and last, when Tom and Becky get lost in McDougal’s cave. The first time Tom faces real despair, he, Huck, and Joe Harper are posing as pirates. They steal some food, get on a raft, and head for Jackson Island leaving everyone at home to wonder where they have gone or if they are even alive. After staying on the island for two days and one night, the boys are awakened at midnight by a loud boom. Joe Harper was the first of the boys to wake up, and he called the other two. They sat there a few moments confused. “ Now a weird flash turned night into day and showed every little grass blade, separate and distinct, that grew about their feet.” (Pg. 159) Then Tom yelled, “ Quick, boys! Go for the tent! “ (Pg. 159) They scrambled through the dark forest falling over limbs and holes in the dirt. Next came the rain with such a fury that it was almost blinding the boys. Finally, they reached tent unharmed, but they were drenched with rainwater, out of breath, and scared out of their minds. As they held tight to each other there was a giant gust of wind that ripped the tent right out of the ground. The homeless youths were forced to flee again. Staying together, they reached a great big oak tree and waited the storm out. All three were watching with awe in their eyes as the phenomenon went to its climax then quickly died down again. The boys shivering with fear returned to what was left of the campsite bruised and wet, but they were safe at last. The next time Tom is given a fright, Huck Finn once again accompanies him. He and Huck are posing as robbers. The two set off to find some buried treasure in an old haunted house. As they are about to start digging they hear two men outside the house walking toward them. At this they both run upstairs to hide and get a view. “The door opens and it’s none other than the old deaf- and – dumb Spaniard that’s been about town once or twice lately.” (Pg. 233) His companion is unknown. Next the Spaniard spoke to his friend, which astonished the boy in two ways. One, if he was deaf and dumb he would not be able to speak, and two, they recognized his voice as the criminal Injun Joe (the man who wanted to kill Tom because he testified against him in court for the murder of Dr. Robinson) Immediately the boys became silent with fright, and watched as Injun Joe used their shovels to dig in the house. While digging, Injun Joe struck gold. He was about to bury his treasure again and come back for it later when he said, “ I’d nearly forgot. That pick had fresh earth on it.” (Pg. 238) Injun Joe looked suspicious and he asked his partner, “Who could have brought those tools here? Do you reckon they can be upstairs?” (Pg. 238) The boys almost passed out when they heard this and were breathless. Injun Joe started for the stairs, and the thought of making a run for it passed through their racing minds, but it was shot down by their lack of will to even move. As Injun Joe made every step closer and farther up the stairs, the boy’s hearts began to beat faster and harder until they were sure the murderer could hear every thump. Then with one loud crack the stairs collapsed and fell to the floor with Injun Joe right behind them. Tom and Huck were relieved. Injun Joe got up and gave up on the idea leaving with his treasure at hand. Tom and Huck were thankful of the old
