A CHARACTER CHANGE IN TOM SAWYER

Sydney Gwyn
6
th
Grade Literature
4/11/14



Parent Signature _____________________________________





Gwyn, 2

Many people think that they are better than everyone else, so does Tom Sawyer.
In the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom is a self-centered, impulsive, immature,
ignorant young boy at the beginning of the book. Throughout the book, Tom changes into
a caring, mature, respectful, brave young man.
First, Tom begins to show he cares about what he believes in when he is away from
home and he prays. "They said their prayers inwardly.
1
Tom normally, does not pray
because he wants to, but rather, he does it because his Aunt Polly makes him. He left
home with his friends because they felt that no one cared about them. They went to an
island not far from the town to become pirates. Tom is starting to do things that he does
not like to do, but that he knows is the right thing.
Next, Tom starts to respect the others around him when he goes back home after
being at the island. He knows that Aunt Polly has been worrying about him, and he wants
to relieve her from her fear. Tom has been on the island for a few days, and now he is
going back home. The boys purposely planned their return during their funeral. When
Aunt Polly sees Tom, she shows a ton of affection towards him. Then, Tom says, "Aunt
Polly, it ain't fair. Somebody's got to be glad to see Huck.
2
This shows that Tom really
respects the way that Huck feels.
An example of Toms maturity is when he comforts Becky in the cave. When they
became stuck, Becky was scared to death and did not know what to think about the
situation. Tom took care of Becky and let her know that they would find a way out of the
cave. Oh, its all right. This aint the one, but well come to it right away,
3
said Tom.
Tom is showing that he is going to help Becky out of the cave; he is showing her that he is
mature enough to marry her.
In conclusion, Tom has become a wonderful young man. Now, he is mature,
responsible, and caring towards others. Tom has made significant changes in the way he
acts, and I am sure others enjoy being around him more than they ever did before.



1
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (New York: Modern Library Paperback
Edition, 2001), 104.

2
Ibid., 131.

3
Ibid., 222.
Gwyn, 3

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. New York: Modern Library Paperback Edition,
2001.






















Gwyn, 4

Outline 1- First Draft

I. Introduction
A. In the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom thinks that he is too cool for
school.
B. Tom is a self-centered, impulsive, immature, ignorant young boy at the beginning of
the book.
C. Throughout the book Tom changes into a caring, mature, respectful, brave young
man.
II. Body paragraph 1
A. Tom begins to show he cares about what he believes in, and he cares about what is
right.
B. Tom does not pray to God because he wants to, he does it because his Aunt Polly
makes him.
C. Tom left home with his friends because they felt that no one cared about them.
D. They went to an island not far from the town so that they could become pirates.
E. "They said their prayers inwardly. (Pg. 104)
F. Tom is starting to do things that he doesnt like to do but that he knows is the right
thing.
III. Body Paragraph
A. Tom starts to respect the others around him when he goes back home.
B. He knows that Aunt Polly has been worrying about him, and he wants to relieve her
from her fear.
C. Tom has been on the island for a few days, and now he is going back home. They
boys purposely planned their return during their funeral.
D. When Aunt Polly sees Tom she shows a ton of affection towards him.
E. Then Tom says, "Aunt Polly, it ain't fair. Somebody's got to be glad to see Huck"
(Pg. 131)
F. This shows that Tom really respects the way that Huck feels.

IV. Body paragraph 3 (follows same format as body paragraph 1)
A. Tom shows that he is mature when he comforts Becky in the cave.
B. Tom and Becky got stuck in a cave; Becky was really scared and didnt know
what to think about the situation.
C. Tom took care of Becky and let her know that they would find a way out of the
cave.
D. Oh, its all right. This aint the one, but well come to it right away, said Tom.
(pg. 222)
E. Tom is showing that he is going to help Becky out of the cave; he is showing her
that he is mature enough to marry her.
V. Conclusion
A. Tom has become a very nice young man.
B. Now, he is caring, mature, responsible, and caring towards others.
C. Tom has made significant changes in the way he acts, and I am sure others enjoy
being around him more than they ever did now.



Gwyn, 5

Outline 2- Sentence Length
I. Introduction
A. In the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom thinks that he is the best.
B. He soon realizes that he is not the best.
C. Tom is a self-centered, impulsive, immature, ignorant young boy at the beginning of
the book.
D. Throughout the book Tom changes into a caring, mature, respectful, brave young
man.
IV. Body paragraph 1
A. Tom begins to show he cares about what he believes in, and he cares about what is
right.
B. Tom does not pray to God because he wants to, he does it because his Aunt Polly
makes him.
C. Tom left home with his friends because they felt that no one cared about them.
D. They went to an island not far from the town so that they could become pirates.
E. "They said their prayers inwardly.
F. Tom is starting to do things that he doesnt like to do but that he knows is the right
thing.
V. Body Paragraph
A. Tom starts to respect the others around him when he goes back home.
B. He knows that Aunt Polly has been worrying about him, and he wants to relieve her
from her fear.
C. Tom has been on the island for a few days, and now he is going back home.
D. The boys purposely planned their return during their funeral.
E. When Aunt Polly sees Tom she shows a ton of affection towards him.
F. Then Tom says, "Aunt Polly, it ain't fair. Somebody's got to be glad to see Huck"
G. This shows that Tom really respects the way that Huck feels.

II. Body paragraph 3 (follows same format as body paragraph 1)
A. Tom shows that he is mature when he comforts Becky in the cave.
B. Tom and Becky got stuck in a cave; Becky was really scared and didnt know what to
think about the situation.
C. Tom took care of Becky and let her know that they would find a way out of the cave.
D. Oh, its all right. This aint the one, but well come to it right away, said Tom.
E. Tom is showing that he is going to help Becky out of the cave; he is showing her that
he is mature enough to marry her.
III. Conclusion
A. Tom has become a very nice young man.
B. Now, he is caring, mature, responsible, and caring towards others.
C. Tom has made significant changes in the way he acts, and I am sure others enjoy
being around him more than they ever did now.





Gwyn, 6

Outline 3- Transitions and Variety of Sentence Starters

I. Introduction
A. In the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom thinks that he is the best.
B. Tom is a self-centered, impulsive, immature, ignorant young boy at the beginning of
the book.
C. Throughout the book Tom changes into a caring, mature, respectful, brave young
man.
II. Body paragraph 1
A. First, Tom begins to show he cares about what he believes in, and he cares about
what is right.
B. Normally, Tom does not pray to God because he wants to, but rather, he does it
because his Aunt Polly makes him.
C. He left home with his friends because they felt that no one cared about them.
D. Tom went to an island with his friends, not far from the town so that they could
become pirates.
E. "They said their prayers inwardly.
F. Tom is starting to do things that he doesnt like to do but that he knows is the right
thing.
III. Body Paragraph
A. Next, Tom starts to respect the others around him when he goes back home.
B. He knows that Aunt Polly has been worrying about him, and he wants to relieve
her from her fear.
C. Tom has been on the island for a few days, and now he is going back home.
D. The boys purposely planned their return during their funeral.
E. When Aunt Polly sees Tom she shows a ton of affection towards him.
F. Then, Tom says, "Aunt Polly, it ain't fair. Somebody's got to be glad to see Huck"
G. This shows that Tom really respects the way that Huck feels.

IV. Body paragraph 3 (follows same format as body paragraph 1)
A. As Tom shows that he is mature when he comforts Becky in the cave, Becky
starts to like him better.
B. Becky and Tom got stuck in a cave; Becky was really scared and didnt know
what to think about the situation.
C. Tom took care of Becky and let her know that they would find a way out of the
cave.
D. Oh, its all right. This aint the one, but well come to it right away, said Tom.
E. Tom is showing that he is going to help Becky out of the cave; he is showing her
that he is mature enough to marry her.
V. Conclusion
A. In conclusion, Tom has become a very nice young man.
B. Now, he is caring, mature, responsible, and caring towards others.
C. Tom has made significant changes in the way he acts, and I am sure others



Gwyn, 7

Outline 4- Content of Body and Mechanics
I. Introduction
A. Many people think that they are better than everyone else, so does Tom Sawyer.
B. In the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom is a self-centered, impulsive,
immature, ignorant young boy at the beginning of the book.
C. Throughout the book, Tom changes into a caring, mature, respectful, brave young
man.
II. Body paragraph 1
A. First, Tom begins to show he cares about what he believes in when he is away from
home and he prays.
B. "They said their prayers inwardly.
C. Tom normally, does not pray because he wants to, but rather, he does it because his
Aunt Polly makes him.
D. He left home with his friends because they felt that no one cared about them.
E. They went to an island not far from the town to become pirates.
F. Tom is starting to do things that he does not like to do, but that he knows is the right
thing.
III. Body Paragraph
H. Next, Tom starts to respect to the others around him when he goes back home.
I. He knows that Aunt Polly has been worrying about him, and he wants to relieve her
from her fear.
J. Tom has been on the island for a few days, and now he is going back home.
K. They boys purposely planned their return during their funeral.
L. When Aunt Polly sees Tom, she shows a ton of affection towards him.
M. Then, Tom says, "Aunt Polly, it ain't fair. Somebody's got to be glad to see Huck"
N. This shows that Tom really respects the way that Huck feels.

IV. Body paragraph 3 (follows same format as body paragraph 1)
A. When, Tom comforts Becky in the cave, he is showing her that he is mature.
B. Becky and Tom were stuck in a cave; Becky was scared to death and did not
know what to think about the situation.
C. Tom took care of Becky and let her know that they would find a way out of the
cave.
D. Oh, its all right. This aint the one, but well come to it right away, said Tom.
E. Tom is showing that he is going to help Becky out of the cave; he is showing her
that he is mature enough to marry her.
V. Conclusion
D. In conclusion, Tom has become a very nice, caring, respectful young man.
E. Now, he is caring, mature, responsible, and caring towards others.
F. Tom has made significant changes in the way he acts, and I am sure others enjoy
being around him more than they ever did now.