The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Chapter 8

Tom runs, avoiding the other children as he goes, until he is far away from the schoolhouse, in the woods behind Widow Douglas's house. This is one of his secret spots, where he hides some of his things. He believes he has done nothing wrong, and is sad and angry with Becky for rejecting him. He wishes he could die temporarily, to make Becky sorry.

Soon, however, he begins to feel a little better, and dreams of running off to be a soldier or an Indian, to return home having had great adventures. Then, he settles on becoming a pirate, and decides to get his possessions together so he can leave the next morning.

Topic Tracking: Imagination 2

He begins by digging under a log where he has placed a box with a marble. Tom believes that leaving a marble buried for two weeks will make all his lost marbles reappear. When it doesn't work, Tom, shocked, throws the marble away. He cannot understand why the trick didn't work, until he decides that a witch must have disturbed his magic. To prove this, he tries another trick, calling a doodle-bug out of the ground to find out if a witch disturbed his hiding-place. When the bug runs away, Tom takes this to mean that it is scared of the witch. Then, he tries another trick: he throws another marble to make it find the first one he threw away. It only takes three tries to make it work.

Topic Tracking: Superstition 2

A tin horn blows and Tom grabs his things--a bow, a wooden sword, and a tin trumpet--and rushes to meet Joe Harper for a game of Robin Hood. Tom is Robin Hood; Joe is Guy of Guisborne. They meet and have a sword duel. When Joe won't fall, Tom tells him he must, because Guy dies in the book. Joe agrees, and dies. They switch roles so Joe can kill Tom. Finally, Tom becomes Robin again so he can die, with Joe as the sad Sherwood Forest outlaws mourning for Robin. After this is done, they sadly get dressed, hide their things, and go home. "They said they would rather be outlaws a year in Sherwood Forest than President of the United States forever." Chapter 8, pg. 57

Topic Tracking: Imagination 3