Jocelyn Gunter

During the nineteenth century, crime was a significant part of life on the Mississippi River. It was a frontier without much law enforcement, so the crime rate was very high. Crime was seen in daily life, and this theme is used by Mark Twain in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It is a significant part in the story of Tom’s childhood and his journey to adulthood. The crimes start off small and grow into worse and worse crimes as the story continues. Twain investigates many different types of crimes, from petty to crimes that would earn one a life sentence today.

 In the nineteenth century, America expanded through purchases like the Louisiana Purchase made by Thomas Jefferson. This new land was a new frontier, yet to have been thoroughly explored and very unpopulated. Because the new frontier was so vast and was slowly being populated, a prominent law enforcement system was not seen in the significantly spread out cities. Because of this lack of a justice system, criminals were very active in the frontier and the crime rate was very high because one could get away with the crime. A significant type of crime that occurred frequently on the Mississippi was piracy. Pirates were numerous along the waterway and committed crimes from stealing to murder. Pirates vandalized, robbed, captured, murdered, sunk ships, and sold goods. The owners were deceived or ambushed, and the pirates accomplished this by using the river to their advantage. They would use caves, rocks, cliffs, bushes, islands, river narrows, rapids, swamps, and marshes. Pirates played on the black market and vandalized foreign ships and sold the imported goods on the black market. Although this vandalizing of foreign ships helped the American economy in the frontier, it was still a common criminal activity on the waters of the Mississippi River.

In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, piracy and treasure come into play toward the end of the book. First, Tom and his friends commit petty crimes leading up to the crimes that lead to the piracy. Some of the first crimes Tom commits are playing hooky from school and deceiving his aunt. This very first “crime” Tom commits appears in the first chapter. His aunt suspects he skipped school to go swimming, and Tom lies to his aunt about why his hair is wet. He almost gets away with the deception, but his cousin gives him away. His next crime is deceiving once again. Tom tricks his friends into doing his chore for him while also gathering trinkets from his friends. He deceives and steals from his friends. This shows part of Tom’s character. He is smart and uses his intelligence to outsmart people.

Tom and his friends desire to be criminals, another way crime is seen in the story. Tom wants to be a pirate and find treasure. Later on, Tom and his friends play Robin Hood, and the boys wish they could be outlaws for a year. Crime is also seen by Tom. Tom witnesses Dr. Robinson, Injun Joe, and Potter dig up a corpse in the graveyard. While the three adults are committing this crime, the men begin to argue because Potter demands for extra pay from Dr. Robinson. Dr. Robinson knocks out the drunken Potter and Injun Joe attacks Dr. Robinson with Potter’s knife, stabbing and killing Dr. Robinson. When Potter comes to, Injun Joe tells Potter he killed the doctor because Potter’s knife is still in the doctor. Potter believes Joe because he is still dazed and Injun Joe covers up his tracks. Tom witnesses three crimes: grave robbing, murder and lying.

Tom, Huck, and Joe Harper fulfill their dream of being pirates one night when they sneak off to Jackson’s Island. For this journey, the boys commit another petty crime. The boys steal some bacon to bring with them on the journey, and, after they eat the bacon, they reflect on their actions and feel remorse. One can see as the book progresses the crimes become worse, from lying to actually stealing something. Although the crimes are small, Twain shows the influence of choice in crime and the effect of a new unconquered, unsettled frontier and its main source of life, the river, have on one’s childhood. This effect can be seen on Twain’s childhood, and then the influence of his childhood in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer plays on many realistic crimes as the book progresses from Tom’s childhood to his adulthood. His dreams of being a pirate, an outlaw, being Robin Hood and looking for buried treasure turn to Tom and his friends encountering real outlaws, real criminals, actual crimes, and stolen treasure. Instead of playacting out these “heroic” roles, as the boys grow up, they begin to see the world as it really is. They begin to realize being pirates is not that great of a life. They realize outlaws are serious, real criminals who could harm them at any moment. The boys are faced with reality toward the end of the book and have to decide between good and evil. Tom has to choose whether or not to keep his mouth shut about the fact Injun Joe killed the doctor, not Potter. Huck has to decide to save Widow Douglas from being murdered by Injun Joe.

The realistic crimes seen in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer can be seen in the history of the Mississippi River. Twain, as he was growing up, encountered an uncivil frontier with that many outlaws. Twain witnessed two murders when he was a boy: the first one he watched a local man murder a cattle rancher, similar to Tom witnessing the murder of Dr. Robinson. These childhood experiences can be seen in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer through Tom’s adventure into adulthood and Huck’s adventure into adulthood as well. The effects of the history of the Mississippi River are prominent in the themes of this story. Twain brilliantly uses his personal experiences, like growing up in a town without strict law enforcement, to create depth to his story on the adventures of boyhood and the transition into adulthood.

Bibliography

“Mark Twain.” http://www.biography.com/people/mark-twain-9512564. A&E Networks Television. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

Pitts, Kathy Root. “The New Southern View Ezine/Scenic and Historic Mississippi Pirates of the Mississippi.” http://www.newsouthernview.com/pages/nsv_shm_ms_pirates.html. The New Southern View. 21 Feb. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Minneapolis: The American Publishing Company, 1876. Print.