The theme of Realism vs. Romanticism is heavily satirized through out The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it appears constantly as a form of social commentary of the authors and beliefs of the people of the time. Twain uses his characters as concepts to the reader, with Tom representing the romantic views and Huck representing the realistic view of the time period.
Our most definite evidence to this theme is in Chapter 2. Tom convinces Huck to sneak out at night for the purpose of joining his gang. It is at this point when Tom explores the idea of having an "official" oath for his gang. In the oath, Tom elaborates on the various punishments of breaking said oath such as killing the offending person. Tom’s originally wants his gang to murder, steal, and kidnap from people coming to town in their …show more content…
Just like writers who often make stories based on books without firsthand experiences, Tom Sawyer has very little knowledge on how to execute crimes however, he has read dozens of adventure stories involving criminals and rebels. Tom’s miniscule amount of knowledge is compared to fantasy writers and their make-believe stories of the time. Twain's portrayal of Tom’s ignorance helps show the reader the absurdity of fantasy and adventure stories written by authors who too have little knowledge in those genres. On the contrary we have Huck Finn, a practical and logical young man, he is the contrasting character to Tom. While Tom is very flamboyant and elaborate in his thoughts, Huck is practical and serious. On another note, Twain helps to characterize Huck by having him narrate the story in a deadpan manner, often with Huck’s observations of Tom’s actions as having “no profit”. In a simpler way to compare the two characters, if both were locked in a room, Tom would device a plan to use items in the room to pick the lock whereas
Our most definite evidence to this theme is in Chapter 2. Tom convinces Huck to sneak out at night for the purpose of joining his gang. It is at this point when Tom explores the idea of having an "official" oath for his gang. In the oath, Tom elaborates on the various punishments of breaking said oath such as killing the offending person. Tom’s originally wants his gang to murder, steal, and kidnap from people coming to town in their …show more content…
Just like writers who often make stories based on books without firsthand experiences, Tom Sawyer has very little knowledge on how to execute crimes however, he has read dozens of adventure stories involving criminals and rebels. Tom’s miniscule amount of knowledge is compared to fantasy writers and their make-believe stories of the time. Twain's portrayal of Tom’s ignorance helps show the reader the absurdity of fantasy and adventure stories written by authors who too have little knowledge in those genres. On the contrary we have Huck Finn, a practical and logical young man, he is the contrasting character to Tom. While Tom is very flamboyant and elaborate in his thoughts, Huck is practical and serious. On another note, Twain helps to characterize Huck by having him narrate the story in a deadpan manner, often with Huck’s observations of Tom’s actions as having “no profit”. In a simpler way to compare the two characters, if both were locked in a room, Tom would device a plan to use items in the room to pick the lock whereas