Chapter VI
Self-Examination • Dentistry • The midnight charm • Witches and devils • Cautious approaches • Happy Hours
SummaryOn Monday morning, Tom makes a large effort to convince Aunt Polly that he is in too much pain to go to school, but ends up heading to school with an empty space in his mouth and a lost tooth in his pocket. Then, before class, he strikes up a conversation with Huckleberry Finn, who has no supervision from his drunken father, and learns that he is planning on bringing a dead cat to the grave yard at midnight. He wants to give the cat and his warts away to Satan and Tom agrees to go with him. This conversation then causes Tom to be late for class and is punished by the teacher. As part of his punishment, Tom is forced to sit with the girls, and ends up officially meeting Becky Thatcher (mysterious girl). They seem to show an immediate liking to each other, especially after Tom draws her a picture and writes I love you to her. This interaction effects Tom’s mental state throughout the school day, and he does noticeably worse in all of his subjects.
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Analysis |
Tom hatred for school and his convincing, dramatic personality starts coming out in the begging of chapter 6 and leads on to him defying authority (which he continues to do throughout the book). Also, even though the start of Tom and Becky's relationship is a very important part of this chapter, Huckleberry Finn is also introduced and he is already shown as an outcast and bad influence to all the kids in the town. With Huck, came one beginning of the boys intense superstitions that effect the plot greatly later in the book. Lastly, the theme (nothing good can come from manipulation)is present in this chapter because when Tom decides to tell the truth about why he was late, instead of using manipulation, it lead to him meeting the love of his life, Becky Thatcher.
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Questions to think about |
Do you think Becky is going to be a positive or negative influence on Tom? What about Huck?
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