A couple of years ago my grandmother gave me the best parenting advice that I have ever heard even until this day. My grandmother said, “I’easha, children will play you just to get whatever they want. Children hardly have any life worries; they have nothing to do but to sit back thinking on ways to get what they want.” As I was reading, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, I thought about my grandmother’s statement because Tom was very mischievous throughout the story. The Adventure of Tom Sawyer shows the internal power struggle between adults and children. Both adults and children have desires to control, influence, and manipulate situations that will work for their good.
The character Tom Sawyer enjoyed being in control of his surroundings. I think Tom’s desire to control comes from his selfish nature as a child. I realize that wanting to be in control is a part of growing up. Tom’s desire to control his own life causes him to clash with Aunt Polly. Aunt Polly is Tom’s caretaker and provider, which he thinks she fuss too much at times. Tom desires to make his own decisions and live out his adventures. Tom stays in trouble throughout the story from making bad choices, and Aunt Polly disciplines him to keep him in line.
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For example, when I was sixteen years old my mother seemed to be a thorn in my life. I wanted to runaway sometimes, or wished I was an adult so I could control my own life. My mother and I would argue over control but she always won. My mother knew more about life, so her decisions triumphed against my selfish desires. Batzer (2015) notes in the critical article that, “ Twain exposes a power struggle between the adults and children, often reflected through their discourse with each other” (p.86). Through our adolescent we want to control our own life just to live out the selfish