Tom Sawyer is a great book, but I heard a lot of people (most of them girls) say they don't like it. It's a great read and any boy from 8 to 18 should read it, and try to learn from it. This book has some great morals, that apply to everyday life, and are not just for teen boys but everyone of all ages who choses to appreciate the book.
This book is great because it depicts that classic growing up boy experience. As society gets more and more urban, it's harder for kids to spend their days outside, playing tricks on people and having fun. For people who can't have this experience, it's fun for them to imagine what it would be like by reading this book. It encourages people to stop playing video games and get outside. This is important because as America gets bigger and bigger (weight wise), kids should learn to get outside and enjoy the world around them, and not a virtual one, that only exists on a computer screen. This point does not only have to do with being outside, or getting exercise, but also doing productive things like writing, crafts, hobbies, or ever running a business. Having your brain active is as important or more than having your body active and healthy.
Tom is a very sneaky kid, he is very good at tricking people. Reading this book can teach the advantages, and disadvantages, of manipulating people. When Tom uses people for his own good or when he tries to get them to think what he wants, it either goes two ways: nobody suspects anything wrong or suspicious and everything goes Tom's way, or people figure out that tom is trying to manipulate them and he is figured out and punished. One example of this is when he is tricking people into whitewashing that fence, no one is really at their loss, they are giving Tom something they don't care much about in exchange to do something that isn't in their normal everyday routine. But in a situation where Tom is trying to trick/convince the father of the girl he likes that he is a good hearted and religious kid, he is found out and the father gets mad at him. this situation is different because he is doing something where he is trying to be something he is not, or something that might offend people, which allows for more opportunity of getting caught or hurting other people's feelings. Messing with people, or pulling pranks on people is fine, but when you get into deeper situations, it gets messy and there is where people need to stop this type of thing.
Living in the city myself, it's hard to leave the house and go have genuine boy experiences that I feel I would enjoy. Although I grew up in the city, I enjoy things like camping, hiking, etc. Unlike most boys, I've read through the dangerous book for boys and enjoyed it. What I am trying to say here is that sense I have not grown up in the right time/place to have adventures like Tom, and doing things like reading this book or imagining my own adventures will help me stay sane and feed my brain of memories that are not my own. This is the topic I am doing my COA project on, and I feel that having adventures in your mind is important to not just be focused on what is happening now at hand, but also what you can imagine. This is also why I feel connected to the character "Abed" on Community, because we appreciate not what is just happing now in the world, but what the world has imagined hence, movies, tv, and our own imaginations. This all connects back to Tom Sawyer because he has time to do what he wants, outdoors, and in his own imagination. The morals in this book are to live by, not only to keep on track, but to have a happy, imaginative, and fulfilled life.
No comments:
Post a Comment