Tom's Unnecessary Complications

Digging the Hole

When Huck and Tom come up with plans to set Jim free, Huck's idea is very practical.  But, Tom says, "It's as simple as tit-tat-toe  ...  I should hope we can find a way that's a little more complicated than that, Huck Finn." (234).  And Tom was right.  His plan includes inventing difficulties for adventure (he says that Jim's imprisonment is too easy to escape from) based off adventure and escape novels he has read.

-Huck and Tom dig a hole instead of opening a door or going through the window.  But, if that is not difficult enough, Tom insists that they use case-knives to do the job.  They end up switching to picks and shovels (pretending they are case-knives) because it gets too difficult.

-Tom tries to climb up the lightning rod instead of opening the back door and walking up the stairs (he later relents).

-They saw the bed leg (Jim is chained to it) and eats the sawdust from it while they could have lifted the bed and slipped the chain off.  They also use a saw made from stolen knives instead of using a rusty old saw that is nearby.

-The boys sneak things into Jim's food and Uncle Silas and Aunt Sally's clothes (Tom asks Jim to steal them out).

-Jim has to keep a journal (he is illiterate) on a shirt with pens made of pieces of silverware and candlesticks and blood for ink.

Jim's Coat of Arms

-The boys steal a variety of things for the escape ranging from sheets (for the rope ladder) to tin plates (Jim scribbles on them and throws them out the window).

-Tom makes Jim carve inscriptions (like his coat of arms, which Tom designed) on stone (the trio, well duo because Tom mainly "supervises," hauls a grindstone into the cabin.

-Tom puts rats, snakes, spiders, and other bugs in the cabin with Jim to make him a "proper" prisoner.  (Some of the animals get loose in the house, which creates a big ruckus.)

-Tom makes Jim water a flower with his tears (even though Jim does not cry).

-Tom writes anonymous letters to warn the Phelps that a gang will steal Jim.

After Tom is shot and wakes up, he reveals that Jim is a free man.  The whole escape is unnecessary.  This shows Tom's selfishness because he places his want for adventure over Jim's freedom (this episode also demonstrates Jim's trust in the two boys, Jim's compassion, his forgiveness, and his tolerance).  The escape also shows how much Huck has matured ever since he left St. Petersberg and contrasts Tom's Romanticism and Huck's realism.

Pictures:

First picture courtesy of: http://great-authors.albertarose.org/mark_twain/novels/the_adventures_of_tom_sawyer/chapter25.htm

Second picture courtesy of: http://eraofcasualfridays.net/2010/08/22/the-root-of-the-matter/