Tom Sawyer Final
Choose five of the six parts below. Please write all
answers on a separate sheet of paper.With the exception of Part I, answer
all questions using complete sentences.
Part 1: Vocabulary
Tom was a)_______________ exploring McDougal’s cave. He
was boldly
venturing deep into the b)_________________, twisty turny, passages
of this c)________________ that most people could never find their way
out of. He came to a place where two paths d)_________________.
He spent quite a bit of time e)_______________which way to go, and finally
decided to go to the left.
Tom had f)__________________ talked Becky into reentering
the dreadful cave. At first she was g)___________________ that Tom
would even think about going back into that h)_____________________, hateful
place. But Tom had used every bit of i)______________________ and
trickery he knew, and when Becky finally gave in to him, he was j)_____________.
guile ecstatic, eloquently, audaciously, diverged, sinuous, labyrinth,
appalled, repulsive, contemplating
Part 2: Compare and Contrast
Compare and contrast Tom and Huck. In what ways are they alike?
Different? Use examples from the book to back up what you say.
Which would you more like to meet? Why?
Part 3: Letter to the Author
Write a letter to Samuel Clemens telling him what you thought of the
novel. (I realize he is dead, but imagine with me!) Your letter
should include:
¨ Questions you would like to ask him.
¨ Whether you liked the book or not, and why (or not).
¨ A way in which Tom Sawyer relates to your life.
¨ Your favorite part and why.
¨ Suggestions for continuing the story.
Part 4: Potpourri
a) The town of St. Petersburg in the novel is based on Mark Twain’s
boyhood hometown of _________________. The nearest big city is _____________.
b) A sawbones is a ________________________.
c) What did MT mean when he said, "This final feather broke the camel's
back"? (Last line of Chapter 10.)
d) Explain three superstitions that appear in Tom Sawyer.
e) What is the "curtain of charity"?
f) Mark Twain’s real name is _______________ _____________________
__________________.
g) The expression "Mark Twain refers to ___________________________.
h) According to MT, what is the difference between work and play?
i) What was the principal source of news and information in Tom’s town?
Part 5: Who? What? Why?
a) "It’s the devils, sure enough. Three of ‘em! Lordy,
Tom we’re goners! Can you pray?"
b) "Ben, I’d like to, Honest Injun: but Aunt Polly—well Jim wanted
to do it, but she wouldn’t let him; Sid wanted to do it and she wouldn’t
let Sid."
c) "(Huck Finn) is a name that can open this door night or day lad!--and
WELCOME!"
d) "And you’ll say, kind of careless like, as if it warn’t anything,
you’ll say, ‘Yes I got my old pipe…"
e) "No Tom I won’t be rich, and I won’t live in them cussed smothery
houses. I like the woods, and the river…"
Part 6: The Book as a Whole
a) What are the three main plots, or storylines of the novel?
How is each one resolved?
b) What sort of advice is Mark Twain trying to give to kids?
What sort of advice is he trying to give adults? Use examples from
the book that show what you mean.