Why is Tom so determined to make the project of freeing Jim from the Phelps farm more difficult than it really is?

Tom has always been a character foil for Huck. Where Huck would just like the quickest way to get Jim out, Tom says they must saw Jim’s chain off instead of just lifting it off the bed’s framework, because "that’s how it’s done in all the books." Tom relies on the literary adventures from boyhood which, in this situation, are not very practical. Tom also has a new sense of moral fortitude which he needs to constantly justify. This also slows down the process.

Tom has always been a character foil for Huck. Where Huck would just like the quickest way to get Jim out, Tom says they must saw Jim’s chain off instead of just lifting it off the bed’s framework, because "that’s how it’s done in all the books." Tom relies on the literary adventures from boyhood which, in this situation, are not very practical. Tom also has a new sense of moral fortitude which he needs to constantly justify. This also slows down the process.