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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mark Twain
A. Thinking About The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Choose the best answer.
1. What job was Tom assigned as a punishment for playing hooky from
school?
a. cleaning the pig pen c. painting the house
b. chopping wood d. whitewashing the fence
2. All of the following are characteristics of Tom Sawyer EXCEPT
a. an adventuresome nature. c. shyness.
b. stubbornness. d. laziness.
3. Most of the boys in St. Petersburg admired Huckleberry Finn because
a. he didn’t have to do anything he c. their mothers thought so well of him.
didn’t want to do.
b. he was Tom Sawyer’s best friend. d. he lived on Jackson’s Island.
4. “Hang the boy, can’t I never learn anything? Ain’t he played me tricks
enough like that for me to be looking out for him by this time? ” Which
character speaks these lines?
a. Becky Thatcher c. Aunt Polly
b. Injun Joe d. Huckleberry Finn
5. Tom takes the blame for tearing a page in Mr. Dobbins’s anatomy book
because he
a. wants to show the teacher c. has torn the page.
that he is truthful.
b. feels sorry for Becky and wants d. wants to save his friend Joe Harper from
to get back in her good graces. getting a beating.
6. In Chapter 7, how might the schoolmaster best be characterized?
a. scholarly c. punitive
b. indifferent d. amusing
7. For what crime is Muff Potter arrested and tried?
a. theft c. murder
b. kidnapping d. none of the above
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8. In Chapter 13, where do Tom, Huck, and Joe Harper run away?
a. Jackson’s Island c. Chicago
b. St. Louis d. Hannibal, Missouri
9. In Chapter 26, Twain describes how Injun Joe almost finds the boys hiding
in the haunted house. What technique does this part of the story illustrate?
a. flashback c. foreshadowing
b. suspense d. humor
10. The author would probably agree that by living in a civilized society, we
a. give up a lot of freedom. c. get more fun out of life.
b. become better people. d. live longer.
B. Recognizing Literary Elements and Techniques
Answer each question below with the best term from the following list:
situational humor, internal conflict, external conflict, dialect, suspense.
11. Of which literary element is the following an example?
“Tom, it was middling warm in school, warn’t it?”
12. The incident with the beetle and the poodle in church is an example of
which literary element?
13. Which literary element is created by the following dialogue?
“What is it, Tom?” And the two clung together with beating hearts.
“Sh! There ‘tis again! Didn’t you hear it?”
“I—”
“There! Now you hear it.”
“Lord, Tom, they’re coming! They’re coming sure. What’ll we do?”
14. Of which literary element is the following an example?
He was threatening the doctor, with his fist in his face, by this time.
15. Which literary element is demonstrated by Tom’s feelings of guilt about
stealing?
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C. Essay Questions
Write your answers to the questions below. Continue on another page as
necessary.
16. In Chapters 31 and 32, Twain recounts how Tom and Becky become lost
in the cave but manage to find their way out and return safely. In a brief
essay, analyze this incident, discussing what the episode reveals about the
personalities of both Tom and Becky. Support your ideas with specific
references to the text.
17. In a brief essay, discuss how Twain manages to relate plot events to a
variety of settings in the novel. Using the list of settings provided below,
explain how the events that occur in each setting are appropriate to that
setting.
• Jackson’s Island
• the cemetery
• McDougal’s Cave
• Aunt Polly’s house
18. Satire is the use of wit to mock social convention or the foibles of
human beings and institutions. In an essay, analyze and discuss Mark
Twain’s targets for satire in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Be sure to
support your main ideas with specific references to the text.
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