Chapter XII
Tom shows his generosity • Aunt Polly weakens
SummaryBecky Thatcher gets ill and stops coming to school. This causes Tom’s depression to worsen, and Aunt Polly to worry about his health. Aunt Polly tries many useless remedies to bring back his emotions and old self. These useless treatments then lead to her giving him awful tasting Pain Killer (medicine). After many gross doses, Tom gives it to the cat, causing him to freak out and break many things around the house. After this, Aunt Polly realizes that “what was cruelty to a cat might be cruelty to a boy, too,” so she sends him off to school with no punishment. At school he sees Becky Thatcher, and tries to “show-off”, but only embarrasses himself further.
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Analysis |
Tom's experiences are becoming to much for him to handle, and he is becoming overwhelmed. This chapter makes the story realistic because it would be very challenging for a kid to handle murder, his conciseness, and loosing the "love of his life" (well it would be hard for anyone to handle), so acting like everything was fine would take away life from the story. Also as Aunt Polly is given this challenge, it tests her ability to parent and teaches her to truly think of a child's emotions, and not the physical aspect of a mental/emotional injury.
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Questions to think about |
What will help Tom recover?
Will Aunt Polly and Tom's relationship improve as the continue to understand each other better? |
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