Does Tom’s behavior comment on society in some larger way?

Question

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Does Tom’s behavior comment on society in some larger way?

The revelation at the novel’s end that Tom has known all along that Jim is a free man is startling. Is Tom inexcusably cruel? Or is he just being a normal thirteen-year-old boy?

Asked by dottie #237871 on 3/27/2012 8:22 PM

Last updated by Aslan on 3/27/2012 8:36 PM

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Answered by Aslan on 3/27/2012 8:36 PM

It certainly does. What attracts to Tom (especially in Tom Sawyer) is his child like honest rebellion. By the end of Tom Sawyer we see a more mature boy. Unfortunately his maturity comes with a certain conformity to white culture of the South. This is made even more problematic by the fact that it is a rather cruel joke played on Jim.

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