In the book, at the beginning of chapter two page ten, it states that Tom "surveyed the fence and all gladness left him." It is a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is shining and "there is a song in every heart," but Tom Sawyer has to spend the day painting a thirty-yard nine-foot fence. Worse, he knows it's his fault. The previous night, he had come back late to find his aunt waiting for him in his room. Any excuses he may have had became invalid as soon as his aunt saw the poor state of his clothes.
Tom Sawyer, however, is nothing if not ingenuous. When Ben Johnson arrives to ridicule him, Tom makes him believe he enjoys the work and would prefer to whitewash the fence than go swimming.
That put the thing in a new light... Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said:"Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little."
After Ben tires out, Tom gives Billy Fisher the "chance" in exchange for a kite. After Billy Fisher, Tom gives Johnny Miller his opportunity in exchange for a dead rat. All the time Tom is sitting on barrel in the shade, idly playing with his new toys.
It's a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and all the trees and flowers look so fresh and lovely. It sure is a morning to gladden the hearts of everyone in St. Petersburg. But not Tom Sawyer; he's feeling incredibly sad. Because while all the other boys are out having fun swimming, Tom's going to be spending his Saturday whitewashing the fence. This is his punishment from Aunt Polly for getting into a fight with a boy and coming home with his clothes all dirty and torn.
But Tom's not miserable for very long. He figures out a way to turn lemons into lemonade, so to speak, making his punishment an unusually enjoyable experience as he tricks a number of children into whitewashing the fence on his behalf.
No comments:
Post a Comment