History Literature / TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer

* TreasureMap: In the sense of cryptographic signs; when Injun Joe and his accomplice are discussing where to move the Murrel gang loot, Joe says "We'll take it to my den.... Number Two--under the cross." The boys spend a good part of the rest of the book trying to find it. [[spoiler: They do find it, as a matter of fact.]]

There have been many adaptations of this novel over the years: Films for the big and small screens (in 1973 alone it yielded both a big-screen musical with Creator/JodieFoster as Becky Thatcher, and a MadeForTVMovie), a short-lived [[Theatre/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Broadway musical in 2001]], a DirectToVideo [[WesternAnimation/TomSawyer2000 animated version]] with a FunnyAnimal cast, and a 1980 anime version by ''Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater''. Believe it or not, it's even been adapted into two games for the [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]. One is a PlatformGame developed by SETA and the other is a RolePlayingGame by [[Creator/SquareEnix Square]] that wasn't exported beyond Japan.

%%* OperationJealousy: Tom and Becky do this on each other.

* GirlNextDoor: Becky Thatcher, Tom's LoveInterest. It doesn't pan out.

* FalseConfession: When the school teacher's anatomy book is torn by Becky, Tom confesses to it instead to spare her the beating from the teacher.

* StealthPun: Fitting that '''A'''my Lawrence was Tom's love interest before '''B'''ecky Thatcher came. After all, After A comes B.

* StealthPun: Fitting that '''A'''my Lawrence was Tom's love interest before '''B'''ecky Thatcher comes. After all, After A comes B.

* ForcedIntoTheirSundayBest: Tom in an early chapter, and later [[spoiler:Huck when the widow tries to civilize him]].

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Both Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Though that's mainly because the "Sunday shoes" they have to wear are a few sizes too small and hurt their feet.

* LookBehindYou: In the first few pages, Tom is just about to be beaten with a switch by his aunt Polly for stealing jam, but Tom pulls this trope and escapes.

* FalseConfession: When the school teacher's anatomy book gets torn by Becky, Tom confesses to it instead to spare her the beating from the teacher.

* TreatedWorseThanThePet: When Tom identifies a dog as "Bull Harbison," Twain adds a note to the reader that a slave named Bull would have been "Harbison's Bull."

* CreepyCave: A massive cave, [[https://www.marktwaincave.com/mark-twain-cave/#:~:text=Traverse%20the%20labyrinth%20which%20inspired,and%20smooth%2C%20with%20no%20stairs based on a real cave system in Missouri]], lurks in the background of the story. In the climax, Tom and Becky get lost in the cave and must find their way out, braving bats, darkness, and [[spoiler:the man who turns out to be in there with them]]. Becky is so scared by the cave that she becomes basically nonfunctional, requiring Tom to get them out. [[spoiler:After their escape, the cave is sealed by local parents to prevent a similar incident, unknowingly trapping the main antagonist inside, where he is later discovered having died of hunger.]]

%%* FreudianTrio: Tom (ego), Huck (id), Becky (superego).

%%* PuppyLove: Tom and Becky, of course.

* TheSavageIndian: Injun Joe is a straight example. He's not only a cold-blooded killer (as Tom witnesses first-hand), but he WouldHurtAChild. And if Tom doesn't send an innocent man to jail in Injun Joe's place, Tom's as good as dead.

%%* AbusiveParents: Huck's dad.

%%* TheAlcoholic: Huck's dad, Muff Potter, and Injun Joe.

* DIYDentistry / TheToothHurts: When Aunt Polly discovers that Tom has a loose tooth that is causing him pain, she ties one end of a thread to it and the other to a bedpost. Then she shoves a hot coal into his face, scaring him into jumping backward so that the tooth is yanked out.

--> "He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it — namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary [[ForbiddenFruit to make the thing difficult to obtain]]."

* FreeRangeChildren: To the extent that parents only worry if their kids don't come home for two or three nights in a row. After a local girl's birthday party, one of the planned activities was letting the kids wander through a cave and its elaborate system of unexplored tunnels, a cave where more than a few people have gotten lost and died. One almost suspects that the change in mentality between then and now was due to outright natural selection.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tom. He's quite often a terrible {{Jerkass}}, but all of these instances spring from thoughtlessness rather than any actual malice. When it comes down to it, he actually has a very powerful conscience and never wishes any ''serious'' harm on anyone. Perhaps most telling is Aunt Polly's comment to herself when she discovers the letter he was planning on giving her to explain his absence:

** Perhaps even more impressive is his willingness to stand up in court and identify Injun Joe as the killer of Dr. Robinson, doing the right thing despite the danger to himself in doing so (he is justifiably ''terrified'' of Joe).

* TheSavageIndian: Injun Joe
* TreasureMap: In the sense of cryptographic signs; when Injun Joe and his accomplice are discussing where to move the Murrel gang loot, Joe says "We'll take it to my den…. Number Two—under the cross." The boys spend a good part of the rest of the book trying to find it. [[spoiler: They do.]]

%%* TheSavageIndian: Injun Joe

%%* {{Tsundere}}: Becky is a type A.

* CatConcerto: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]]. Tom and Huck [[NobodyHereButUsBirds meowing to signal each other]] when they want to sneak out late at night. Huck complains about one instance in which he meowed for so long that a man started throwing rocks at him and exclaimed, "Dern that cat!" Huck retaliated by throwing a brick through the man's window.

* InsanityDefense: [[spoiler:Muff Potter's lawyer said to the jury he wanted to introduce this defense in account of his client's drunkness before making Tom and Huck testify.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Tom. He's quite often a terrible {{Jerkass}}, but all of these instances spring from thoughtlessness rather than any actual malice. When it comes down to it, he actually has a very powerful conscience and never wishes any ''serious'' harm on anyone. Perhaps most telling is Aunt Polly's comment to herself when she discovers the letter he was planning on giving her:

* RelaxOVision: Tom once again tricks his fellow boys by winning a prize for Bible memorization in school, but doesn't expect that his teachers will actually test him on it. When asked who the first two disciples were, Tom panics and answers "[[DavidVersusGoliath David and Goliath]]". The narrator interjects with "Let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of the scene." End of chapter.
* SchmuckBait: Becky is tempted to open the teacher's desk when she sees the key in the lock, as the entire class is curious to find out what Mr Dobbins's book is about.