Gender Stereotypes In Tom Sawyer

By examining the gender stereotypes that Tom believes to be true in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, the reader can understand how those beliefs shape Tom’s interactions with females throughout the book, by causing him to try to guard and comfort girls, which in turn improves their view of Tom. One day in class, Becky Thatcher tears a page of the schoolmasters book, and she begins to worry about being whipped for the first time at school and Tom thinks to himself, “What a curious kind of a fool a girl is! Never been licked in school! Shucks! What’s a licking! That’s just like a girl- they’re so thin-skinned and chicken-hearted. [...] Girls’ face always tell on them. They ain’t got any backbone. “(Twain 146). This demonstrates Tom

Tom doesn’t only take penalties for girls, but he makes an extra effort to comfort and calm them. When Tom and Becky were in the cave and Becky realized they were lost, “She sank to the ground and burst into such a frenzy of crying that Tom was appalled with the idea that she might die or lose her reason. He sat down by her and put his arms around her; she buried her face in the bosom, [...] Tom begged her to pluck up hope again,” (Twain 217), this demonstrates Tom put forth a special attempt to shelter Becky and coddle her. Tom’s caring behavior towards females causes girls to think of Tom as, “so noble!” (Twain 148), and causes Tom to hold a reputation as a honourable boy. Additionally, this develops Tom as a selfless character because he makes personal sacrifices to help those he views as weak and that need help. Through the examination of the gender stereotypes Tom holds as truth, the reader can recognize how those beliefs influence his behavior towards girls, which prompts Tom to try to cheer and shelter them, and in turn develops his character as a noble