View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Tom see that shows him the way out of the cave?

2. What is the title of the first-prize composition?

3. What does Tom say that he dreamed?

4. What dampens Tom's expectations of a night at Widow Douglas'?

5. During the trial, what does the defense attorney ask the witness who saw Muff Potter washing at a creek?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Tom and Huck's treasure?

2. Describe the Spaniard.

3. Describe Huck's reaction to living with the Widow Douglas.

4. What happens during Tom's speech on examination day?

5. How does Tom feel when Injun Joe is found dead?

6. Describe what happens in the courtroom during Tom's testimony.

7. What happens at the Fourth of July celebration?

8. How does Mrs. Thatcher react as Tuesday comes and Becky is still missing?

9. What is Tom's approach to finding buried treasure?

10. What evidence of Becky and Tom do the searchers find in the cave?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the structure of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

1) In what ways is the structure of the novel episodic? What does the episodic nature of the novel add to its story?

2) What things does the author keep from the reader to build suspense? How does the author use surprise?

3) How does the structure of the novel follow the stages of Tom's development?

Essay Topic 2

As the author says, the story of Tom Sawyer is the story of a boy, and at the end of the story, he is on his way to manhood. Describe how The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a coming of age story. What are the qualities of boyhood in Tom during the story? What are the qualities that make a person adult in the story? What steps does Tom take toward adulthood? How much further does Tom have to go toward adulthood at the end of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

The novel contains many examples of guilt and self-condemnation. For example, Muff Potter condemns himself for a crime he didn't commit, saying it's right that he should die for it, while Tom and Huck are overcome with guilt for not telling what they know.

1) Tom is always misbehaving and doesn't feel guilty at all. What types of circumstances will or won't make Tom feel guilty?

2) Muff Potter and Huck Finn both feel that they deserve condemnation, in part because of the society's condemnation of them. How does societal condemnation relate to self-condemnation?

3) In what ways is guilt a valuable feeling? How does it help or hinder the characters? Use examples from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 877 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample