Naiveté and Innocence of Tom Sawyer

劉月

【Abstract】Naiveté and innocence are two of the common features of children. Tom Sawyer presented， by Mark Twain， as a professional boy， incessantly a boy， nothing but a boy， who has the characteristics of children in general.

【Key words】naiveté； innocence； Tom Sawyer

Monday morning sees Tom Sawyer in low spirits because of another weeks suffering in school. Tom tries his best to find something wrong in his body so that he can stay home from school. He happily detects that one of his upper front teeth is loose. He is going to groan， but thinking of the terrible result of having his tooth pulled out， he gives up. He finally chooses his sore toe as an excuse and falls to groaning with considerable spirit. Tom hopes Sid， his younger brother， who sleeps beside him， to wake up and rush to tell Aunt Polly about his symptoms. But no matter how loudly Tom groans， Sid has no response from his sound sleeping. Tom is aggravated， and he has to shake Sid. But when his poor younger brother wakes up and stares at him， Tom pretend s to let Sid let him alone. He acts as if he is dying. Sid turns so frightened that he flies downstairs to tell Aunt Polly that Tom is dying. Toms painstakingly plotting “fraud” turns out to have his loose tooth pulled out and still have to go to school. His trick， simple and cheap， like what any child may make， makes Sid believe but cannot cheat Aunt Polly. From the cute episode it is found that Tom is an alert and resourceful child without losing his naiveté and innocence in childhood. After all， children are still incomplete beings. Under any circumstances， children respond in an innocent and simple fashion， and tend to treat the problems they are faced up with in their unique childish way. The above episode is a wonderful example of the boys mind， which inhabits a world quite distinct from that in which he is bodily present with his elders.

Mark Twain also writes about what children feel about those of the opposite sex during the childrens psychological development. And he reflects it through the hero， Tom Sawyer. There is a vivid depiction about Toms love complication for Becky. Once Tom saw a new girl with furtive eyes in Jeff Thatchers garden， he immediately “fell in love” with her. He “began to ‘show off in all sorts of absurd boyish ways in order to win her admiration”. （Mark Twain， P22） Before Tom “worship this new angel with furtive eye”， “he had been the happiest and proudest boy in the world only seven short days， and here in one instant of time she had gone out of his heart like a casual stranger whose visit is done.” （Mark Twain， P22）

This is the beginning of Toms love story with his childishly fickle desertion of his fiancée， Amy Lawrence. “Many children have the inclination to show off before those of the opposite sex so as to catch their attention.” But the so-called love cannot go beyond the limit of immaturity of Toms age. For them， the love is only some trick or game. Mark Twain grasps the childrens psychology and writes about Toms love-affair that is only a boys love-affair， but is never treated otherwise than as a boys love-affair. It is removed from the looming sexuality of childhood and adolescence. It reminds many young readers of their own love-affair， simple and childish.

It is pointed out that children get knowledge from adults around them and books on hand about concept， custom and conduct， and according to their own understanding and imagination， try to imitate. Therefore， imitation is commonly accepted as an innate and active performance for all human beings， especially when they are in their childhood， to mimic or copy others. For children， imitation is supposed to play a very significant role in learning. Finding themselves in an unfamiliar world， children need help from what they read and see to learn things and testify them through their childish imitation， though no thorough understanding is involved.

The same is true when Tom asks Becky for a kiss only because that is ritual he has read about in books when people get engaged. Toms childish imitation according to his reading may seem absurd to adults， but not to young readers. Not having much social experience， they look upon books and adults as “authorities” which help them portray all aspects of life. After Huck hears from an adult that his marts can be cured with dead cats， Huck and Tom carry a dead cat and visit the cemetery at night. Being boys， they think they can control the supernatural and magical forces of darkness， dread and violence by laying spells on such things. They are superstitious about many things in a way that shows their dread of the unknown powers behind nature as well as their childish ignorance.

References：

[1]Twain，Mark.The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.Beijing：the Foreign Language Press，1994.

[2]吳偉仁.美國文學史及選讀[M].北京：外語教學與研究出版社，1983.

[3]常耀信.美國文學簡史[M].天津：南開大學出版社，1991.