Mark Twain's The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, freedom is generally described as not being confined to the laws and norms of society. Throughout the novel, the main character, Tom, continually strives towards freedom. One of the themes that Mark Twain explores in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is that freedom is not all it is cracked up to be. Three examples that support this theme are children admiring Huck’s lawlessness, Tom running away to escape society’s parameters, and Tom convincing Huck to give up his freedom and join society. To begin, Huck’s way of living demonstrates that freedom is a double edged sword. As an orphan, Huck grows up outside of society’s rules causing, “children [to admire] him so […] and [wish] they [dare] to be like him” (43). Huck is the embodiment of freedom. He lives with no rules and is not obliged to attend school or church. All the boys of the village admire Huck’s seemingly nonexistent regard for laws. However, Huck’s freedom has its drawbacks. Huck was abandoned by his ever fighting parents, forcing him to fend and care for himself. Huck is often picked on, neglected, and lonely, and he never learned

Huck struggles to assimilate into society’s norms and routines, so he runs away from his source of grief, the Widow Douglas. When Tom finds Huck, he tricks Huck into promising to “go back to the widder for a month and tackle it and see if [he] can come to stand it” (206). Tom is intentionally forcing Huck to abdicate his freedom. Huck’s freedom had once been revered by numerous children, Tom included, but now Tom’s attitude towards his freedom has changed. Tom realizes that freedom is not the ultimate goal; his friend, Huck, has frequently missed out on opportunities to be loved and cared for as a result of his freedom. By convincing Huck to give up his freedom, Tom shows that freedom is not as invaluable as one may claim it to