The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) by Mark Twain: summary

A Professor of American Studies and English at the University of Texas at Austin, Shelley Fisher Fishkin, predicted The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published in 1876. Clearly Mr. Twain had great fun writing it and enjoy nostalgic about his childhood memories. In this novel, the author had evoked aspects of world that he had lived in as a child without bringing to bear on that world the moral awareness he had acquired as an adult. First Signet Classic Introduction copyright by Fishkin was released in 2002. It sounds so familiar to this novel, one of subject in my literature class. Seeing this book on bookshelf in a bookstore in Ube City, Japan, I just grabbed it to cashier. This classic work is made up of 214 pages with a world of games, freedom, fantasies, friendship, an adventure story with supremely happy ending.

According to Twain’s note on preface, most of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred; one or two were experiences of his own, the rest those of boys who were schoolmates of his. Huck Finn is drawn from life; Tom Sawyer also, but not from and individual – he was combination of the characteristics of the three boys whom he knew, and therefore belongs to the composite order of architecture.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) by Mark Twain: summary

An old lady pulled her spectacles angrily and shouted a name of young boy, Tom. She wanted to lash her nephew but every time she hit him her old heart most broke. The trouble kid was her death sister’s boy. He was not like his half younger brother, Sid, who was a quite boy and had no adventure.

Jim, the small colored boy who worked for Aunt Polly; splitting the wood before supper; on Saturday,  he painted the board fence nine feet high. His aunt told him to help Jim. Bringing the water from the  town pump had always been hateful work in Tom’s eyes. Although the pump was only a hundred and fifty yards off, Jim never got back with bucket of water under an hour and even then somebody generally had to go after him.  There was company at the pump, white, mulatto, and Negro boys and girls. While they were waiting their turns the children would been resting, trading playthings, quarrelling, fighting, and skylarking. Aunt Polly just allowed him to paint and not brought the water.

When his friends, Ben Rogers, Bill Fishers, Johnny Miller, took the brush, Tom was literally rolling in wealth. He had twelve marbles, part of Jew’s – harp, a piece of blue bottle glass, a spoon cannon, four pieces of orange peel, a kitten with only one eye, and others. Though Aunt Polly didn’t allow Tom to go outside but Tom skipped out the house and he was just over the fence and gone. As he was passing by the house where Jeff Thatcher lived, he saw a new girl in the garden. A certain Amy Lawrence vanished out his heart and left even a memory of her behind. He worshiped this new angel with furtive eye till he saw that she discovered him; then he pretended he did not know she was present. He began to show off in all sorts of absurd boyish way, in order to win her admiration.

Every Sunday he attended Sunday school and had to memorize five verses. Tom was call off to dress for Sunday school after his half sister, Mary gave him a brand new knife, the knife wouldn’t cut anything. The western boys ever got the idea that such a weapon could possibly be counterfeit to its injury , is imposing mystery. German boy had always won the prize in recitation. That German got tickets that can change into playthings. When Sunday school the superintendent, Mr. Walter introduced the new judge, his tongue was tied because they were parent of a new angel. When Judge Thatcher asked who the names of the first two disciples that were appointed, Tom answered David and Goliath.

Tom came upon the juvenile pariah of the village, Huckleberry Finn, son of the town drunkard. Huck was cordially hated and dreaded by all mothers of the town, because he was idle and lawless and vulgar, bad – and because all their children admired him so and delighted in his forbidden society, and wished dared to be like him. Though his aunt forbade Tom to get close to Huck but he still played with that uncivilized boy every time he got chance. Huckleberry was always dressed in the castoff clothes of full-grown men. He came and went at his own free will. He slept on doorsteps in fine weather and in empty hogs-heads in wet; he didn’t have go school and Sunday school, or obey anybody.

When Tom met him with dead cat they planned to bury it next to old Hoss Williams, newly grave. After everybody sent to bed as usual, Tom lay awake and jumped off and disappeared in the gloom. Half an hour, the two boys and the dead cat wading through the tall grass of the graveyard, the saw three human: Dr. Robinson, Muff Potter and Indian Joe. They are in a mission to steal old Hoss William’s body. After chatting, Injun Joe threatened the doctor, the man who paid him. On page 69, Injun Joe was irritated of doctor’s mouth, his bad treat to him and doctor’s father who sent him to jail.

The big man was half Indian punched him on his face. They were struggling and he stabbed the doctor till die. He put the drunkard Potter to that dead body. The two boys tied in bond silence and took an oath never revealed to anybody what they saw that night.  The whole village was suddenly electrified with the ghastly news. The story ran it was Potter washing himself about two o’clock in the morning. The knife on the body was his. The Sheriff was confident that he would be captured before night. Tom’s mind was made up now.

He was gloomy and desperate it was his girl, Becky Thatcher, the murder, and Aunt Polly order. He was forsaken boy and told that nobody loved him. His friend Joe Harper with evidently a great and dismal purpose in his heart, the two souls, planned to run away from home then they hunted Huckleberry Finn on their plan.  They played piracy in a wooden island, Jackson Island, unpeopled narrow land. It was three miles away from their village.

It has been three days the boys left St. Petersburg. The Harpers and Aunt Polly’s family were being into mourning with great grief in many tears. It was very still Sabath, the villagers began together loitering the moment in the vestibule to converse in whispers about the sad event. The congregation rose while the three boys came marching up the aisle. Murder trial came on in the court and it became absorbing topic of village talk immediately. At last, Tom told the truth and he saved Potter’s life. His name even went to immortal print for the village paper magnified him.

Half time was afraid of Injun Joe would never be captured; the other half he was afraid he would be. Rewards had been offered, the country had been scoured but no Injun Joe has found. The desire suddenly came upon Tom one day. He took Huck to a private place, a haunted house. Mostly robbers hid the treasure under floor of haunted houses. Two men entered the haunted house, there old – and – dumb Spaniard that had been in town once or lately and a man that they never saw before but they knew his voice. It was Injun Joe. It was the box, iron bound, not very large. The two men contemplated the treasure a while in blissful silence.

The adventure of the haunted house mightily tormented Tom’s dream at night. He had never seen as much as fifty dollars in one mass before and he was like all boys in his age, in that imagine that all references “hundreds” or “thousands” were merely fanciful of speech.

It was the widow Douglas’s splendid hospitality invited the children to her big house for night’s program. After the feast there was a refreshing season of rest and chat in the shade of spreading oaks. By and by somebody shouted who are ready for cave. Most children wanted to play to that cave not far form Mrs. Douglas’s backyard. In the cave, Huck heard a conversation of Injun Joe and a man. Huck ran and reached Mr. Whelsman’s door told the whole story of Injun Joe’s plan to killed Mrs. Douglas.

It was Tom and Becky still didn’t come out of the cave. The village of St. Petersburg still mourned. Public prayers had been offered to them and many and many private prayers that had the petitioner’s whole heart; but still no good news came from the cave. Mrs. Thatcher was ill and a great part of the time delirous. Aunt Polly had dropped into a settle melancholy and her gray hair almost white. Away in the middle of the night a wild peal burst from they village bell, they had found.

The village was illuminated; nobody went to bed again; it was the greatest night the little town that ever had. Aunt Polly,s happiness was complete and Mrs.Thatcher’s nearly so. Three days and nights of toil and hunger in the cave were not to be shaken off at once, as Tom and Becky soon discovered. They were bedridden. After Tom got better he told to the Judge that Injun Joe was in the cave. They found Injun lay stretched on the ground, dead, with his face close to the crack of the door, as if his longing eyes had been fixed, to the latest moment.

Huck and Tom went back to the cave for Injun’s treasure box. Mrs. Douglas said she meant to give Huck home under her roof and had him educated. But Tom shouted that Huck was wealth and he poured the sacks of money. The village paper published biographical sketches of the boys. The widow Douglas put Huck’s money out six percent and Judge Thatcher did the same to Tom’s at Aunt Polly’s request. Ecah lad had income now. Huck Finn’s wealth and the fact he was now under Mrs. Douglas protection introduced him to society. The widow’s servants kept him clean and neat, combed and brushed, they bedded him at nightly in unsympathetic sheets that not one little spot or stain. He had to eat with knife and fork; he had to use napkin, cup, plate, and he had to learn book and had to go to church.

He bravely bore his misery three weeks and one day turned up missing. The widow hunted for him everywhere in great distress but Tom routed him out. He told the trouble he had been causing and urged him to go home. Huck said he liked the woods and the rivers and he would not live in smothery house. Tom said the truth that he wouldn’t had a low characters in his gang. He would ask the widow to let Huck a little space. Huck didn’t want losing his gang so he said he would try to live with the widow for a month. But after Tom told about the piracy story, he promised would stick to the widow till he would be rotten and reckoned that she would be proud of him.

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Sekapur Sirih 

Karya  ini telah akrab di telinga ketika mempelajari karya sastra lama ketika di bangku kuliah. Ketika melihat buku ini dipajang di sebuah toko buku di kota Ube, Jepang, saya tidak mampu menahan diri untuk membawanya segera ke kasir. Karya klasik yang mungkin tidak mudah didapat. Penulis Twain menggambarkan kehidupan pada tahun 1870-an Amerika. Kisah anak kecil akan selalu menarik karena tentunya tidak seperti kisah orang dewasa yang berhenti di masalah perkawinan konflik percintaan dan masalah keluarga yang kompleks.

Kisah Tom dengan keinginan bebas dari aturan, petualangan, suruhan, kepolosan, kenakalannya sebagai anak-anak, persahabatannya dan sifat kuriositasnya sangat menarik. Karena ini kisah anak maka banyak percakapan dan tindakan jenaka. Walau buku fiksi sudah berusia 145 tahun di dunia baru tanah Amerika namun kisah ini hampir mirip dengan kisah anak di desa ataupun di sebagian perkotaan pada negara dunia ketiga saat ini.

Rentang waktu jauh tidaklah seutuhnya menjamin keadaan serupa sudah nol. Pemberitaan media, kejadian di sekitar kita tentu masih saja menemui kekerasan, eksploitasi, atau pengabaian hak anak. Mark Twain belum akrab dengan hedonisme dan kapitalisme yang sudah menjadi darah sebagain besar penduduk bumi belakangan ini. Perilaku orang tua atau orang dewasa mempekerjakan anak pun masih terlestari. Sisi kasih dan kebaikan dari bibi Polly yang semula buruk terhadap Tom namun makin  lambat laun membaik. Sifat petualangan dan kebebasan yang dimiliki Tom juga dimiliki kawannya Huck.  Sifat munafik orang tua, guru, dan pendeta digambarkan juga. Sisi anak memandang kehidupan terasa membosankan ketika kekurangan kebebasan yang dihiasi aturan, hukuman, dan pukulan. Namun keindahan pun terpapar di akhir cerita.

Terjemahan dalam Bahasa Indonesia: Petualangan Tom Sawyer oleh Mark Twain 

Tom..Tom… begitu sahutan Bibi Polly diawal cerita. Wanita bertubuh gemuk itu begitu marah atas kelakuan anak angkatnya Tom. Sering bolos sekolah, bermain sesukanya, dan sering menipu bibinya yang sudah tua. Pukulan rotan pun sering diterimanya. Kelakuan saudara separuh darah dengannya, Sid, yang lebih muda dari sangat berbeda. Anak itu rajin membantu, apabila Jim, anak budak hitam yang bekerja pada bibinya, sedang membelah kayu bakar, maka Sid pun membantu mengumpulkan belahan kayu, tidak seperti Tom yang hanya mengajak bicara. Hari Sabtu yang merupakan hari libur bagi anak sekolah namun menjadi hari penghukuman bagi Tom. Atas kenakalannya, dia disuruh mengapur rumah. Beberapa temannya ingin mencoba mencat dan Tom pun meminta imbalan sehingga membuat dia kaya.

Hari Minggu merupakan siksaan baginya karena harus bersepatu rapi, saudari separuh darah, Mary membujuknya dengan sebilah pisau lipat bermerk agar mau mengenakan sepatu dan menghafalkan ayat Alkitab. Guru Sekolah Minggu  sangat tegas dalam memberi hukuman bila salah akan tetapi memberi hadiah tiket bila berhasil menghafal dengan benar. Anak-anak Jerman terkenal sangat handal menghapal ayat dan selalu memiliki tiket untuk ditukarkan hadiah mainan.

Guru Sekolah Minggu, Pak Walter, memperkenalkan jemaat baru yakni ke Hakim yang baru pindah dan masih saudara dari temannya Jeff Thatcher. Orang tua dari Becky Thatcher, gadis malaikat yang dia lihat beberapa hari sebelumnya. Tom pun tergugup tidak mampu menahannya. 

Ketika sang hakim bertanya siapa namanya lidahnya seperti terikat menjawab. Ayah Becky bertanya sekali lagi, siapakah dua murid Tuhan Yesus yang pertama kali diurapi anak itu pun menjawab salah; David dan Goliath. Sejak awal  melihat putri pejabat itu, hati Tom sudah tertambat dan terpesona. Dia sadar telah jatuh cinta dan melupakan perasaannya pada Amy Lawrence, gadis yang disukainya sebelumnya.

Suatu hari dari dalam perjalanan ke sekolah Tom bertemu temannya  Huckleberry Finn. Anak kotor dan terawat, berkeliaran dan tidur di depan pintu rumah orang bila musim panas dan tidur di tong bila musim dingin. Para ibu melarang anaknya bergaul dengan Huck karena anak-anak mereka mengagumi kehidupan Huck yang bebas. 

Dia selalu berpakaian dewasa dengan penuh tambalan, tidak pernah mandi dan tidak bersekolah. Anak yang menurut Tom sangat beruntung karena Huck bebas melakukan apa saja tanpa ada aturan. Ayahnya seorang pemabuk yang tidak perduli di mana anaknya tidur. Namun sebagian warga ada yang perduli padanya dengan memberi makanan. Tom berteman dengannya hanya karena bibinya melarang dekat – dekat anak itu.

Berawal dari niat mengubur kucing busuk di malam hari, Tom dan Huck mendapati peristiwa pembunuhan Dokter Robinson di sebuah pemakaman dalam samar – samar kegelapan malam. Dokter yang berniat mencuri mayat warga yang baru saja meninggal. Setelah berdebat dengan pesuruhnya Injun Joe, mereka berkelahi dan tidak lama kemudian dokter terhempas mati oleh Injun Joe. Dengan liciknya lelaki separuh Indian itu membuat alibi pada kawannya Muff Potter yang sedang mabuk, dengan meninggalkan pisau Muff pada tubuh dokter. Seluruh kota St.Petersburg heboh dan Muff Potter pun segera di sidang.

Sebelum diputuskan untuk putusan tiang gantung lelaki itu mengatakan kesedihannya kenapa hanya Tom dan Huck yang bersedia hadir di beberapa kali sidangnya padahal dia sering membetulkan layang – layang anak-anak di kampung itu. Di sisi lain Injun Joe malah jadi pahlawan karena membawa mayat dokter itu dan mengaku berusaha menyelamatkan nyawa dokter itu. 

Sejak kejadian itu hidup Tom sangat tidak tenang, dia pun akhirnya mengingkari janji matinya dengan Huck. Kesepakatan tutup mulut atas kejadian pembunuhan yang mereka saksikan karena  takut Injun Joe, lelaki bertubuh besar itu. Tom bersaksi dan menyelamatkan hidup Potter dan Injun pun menjadi buron. Tom pun tersiar di surat kabar sebagai pahlawan dan mendapat pujian.

Joe Harper teman sebangku Tom sangat bersedih karena sering dipukuli orang tuanya dan kedua anak bernasib sama itupun menangisi penderitaan mereka. Hingga keduanya berencana meninggalkan kampungnya berlayar ke pulau pulau kecil dipenuhi pepohonan dan tidak ada orang hidup di sana. Pulau Jackson berjarak tiga mil dari kampung meraka. Dipercaya dihuni para bajak laut dari Spanyol. 

Mereka pun mengajak Huck. St.Petersburg pun gempar akibat sudah tiga hari kehilangan Tom dan Harper. Air mata serta acara doa kematian pun sudah dipanjatkan bagi ketiganya. Tepat hari Sabat, ketika warga berkumpul di gereja maka muncullah ketiga anak itu dengan tampilan, lusuh dan lesu karena kelaparan. Keluarga dan warga memeluk mereka namun tak satu pun yang memeluk Huck. Bibi Polly pun merelakan dirinya memeluk anak itu atas permintaan Tom. Bibinya pun semakin menyayanginya.

Adalah seorang janda kaya bernama Nyonya Douglas yang baik hati dan suka menyenangkan anak-anak. Wanita berkelas itu mengundang anak – anak menginap di rumahnya yang mewah. Becky,Tom, dan Huck ikut serta di antara anak-anak yang menginap di rumah Nyonya Douglas. Ada sebuah gua tak jauh dari belakang rumah dan anak-anak pun bermain ke sana. 

Tom dan Becky tersesat di dalam gua itu sementara Huck tidak sengaja mendengar percakapan Injun Joe dengan lelaki lain yang ingin membunuh Nyonya Douglas atas sakit hati ucapan suaminya yang kasar padanya. Walau sebelumnya Huck bercerita bahwa Tom dan dirinya mendapati orang berpakaian Spanyol yang tinggal di sebuah losmen di kamar terlarang adalah penyamaran Injun Joe namun mereka kurang percaya.

Warga hanya percaya Injun Joe telah lari. Huck berlari meminta bantuan warga yang tinggal sekitar itu dan memberitahukan apa yang dia dengar. Nyonya Douglas sangat berterima kasih atas laporan Huck. Malam larut hingga keesokan telah membuat cemas karena Tom dan Becky belum keluar dari gua itu. Keduanya tersesat dan mereka mendapati mayat Injun Joe mati kelaparan di gua itu. Tepat tengah malam, warga pun akhirnya menemukan mereka. Tom kembali menjadi berita atas mayat Injun Joe dan pisau yang dipakainya membunuh dokter Robinson.

Ayah Becky Thatcher akhirnya  menyukai Tom karena telah menyelamatkan putrinya dan merelakan dirinya dihukum untuk kesalahan Becky yang merobek dengan tidak sengaja buku rahasia guru mereka. Huck dan Tom pun penasaran dengan keberadaan peti harta karun Injun dan mereka pun kembali ke gua itu. Setumpuk uang dan emas berhasil mereka bawa keluar dari gua itu. Keduanya pun mendadak kaya. Uang temuan mereka disimpan di bank dan kedua anak itu memperoleh bunga setiap bulannya.

Sebuah pesta diselenggarakan oleh Nyonya Douglas, dia berterima kasih pada  Huck akan  menyekolahkan dan mengangkat sebagai anaknya. Namun hanya tiga minggu Huck lari dari rumah mewah itu karena dia tidak tahan dengan berbagai aturan sekolah, tidur, dan makan. Nyonya Douglas pun cemas dalam pencarian. Tom mengetahui keberadaan Huck dan berusaha membujuk anak itu pulang karena sudah menyusahkan banyak orang. Huck mengatakan dia tidak mau harta dan rumah mewah dia lebih suka hidup di alam bebas tanpa atura. Tom mengatakan dia berat memiliki anggota geng yang rendah kelakuannya. Tom mengaku bahwa sebenarnya dia bahan ejekan berteman dengan Huck.

Thomas Sawyer meyakinkan sahabatnya itu bahwa dia ingin berteman dengan orang yang bisa dibanggakan. Dia menambahkan bahwa gengnya akan dihina bila anggotanya tidak beradab. Mendengar pengakuan itu, Huck pun mengatakan akan mencoba tinggal sebulan dahulu di rumah Nyonya Douglas. Akan tetapi Tom melanjutkan cerita rencana petualangan pembajakan maka Huck pun berjanji bahkan akan tinggal selamanya di rumah itu. Dia perkirakan bahwa suatu hari nanti nyonya itu akan bangga padanya.

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