Chapter 1 Summary

1
Chapter 1 Summary

• Characters
• Tom mischievous, 12 13 years old
• Aunt Polly Toms dead moms sister
• Sid- half-brother, tattletale
• Fancy kid
• Setting
• St. Petersburg, Missouri
• Action
• Tom played hooky and went swimming.
• Tom fights the fancy kid and wins.
• Sid tattles, Tom gets caught and runs away.
• Aunt Polly decides Tom will work on Saturday.

2
Chapter 2 Summary

• Characters
• Tom
• Jim, the colored boy who did chores
• Ben
• Boys from St. Petersburg
• Setting the fence in the front
• Action
• Tom tricks kids into doing his work. He makes
  them think it is a great thing to do and it
  requires talent - reverse psychology
• He gains free time and riches dead rat on a
  string one-eyed kitten dog collar without a
  dog, etc.

3
Chapter 3 Summary

• Characters
• Tom
• Becky Thatcher, friends sister that Tom is
  very attracted to
• Jeff Thatcher, mentioned, friend
• Joe Harper, friend
• Mary, Toms cousin
• Amy Lawrence, mentioned, Toms girlfriend
• Setting village of St. Petersburg
• Action
• Tom and his friends played army in the
  village.
• Tom worships the new angel, shows off. She
  throws him a pansy.
• Sid broke the sugar bowl Tom got blamed for
  it. He feels sorry for himself.
• Tom goes to her bedroom window and gets water
  dumped on him.

4
Chapter 4 Summary

• Characters
• Tom, Mary (cousin), Billy, Judge Thatcher, Mr.
  Walters, Superintendent, Jeff, Amy Lawrence, the
  new girl
• Setting church in St. Petersburg
• Action
• Family worship time and Tom gets cleaned up for
  church.
• Mary helps Tom recite his Bible verse and gives
  Tom a Barlow knife for his efforts.
• At church, Tom shows off for the new girl.
• Tom trades his riches for tickets.
• Tom gets a Bible, which is usually given to
  someone who has recited LOTS of Bible verse.
• Tom reveals that he does not know any Bible
  info by not answering a simple question correctly.

5
Chapter 5 Summary

• Characters
• Tom, Mary, Aunt Polly, the minister, the
  poodle, the pinchbug, Sid, Willie Mufferson, Mrs.
  Ward, Rev. Sprague, Widow Douglas, Justice of the
  Peace, Lawyer Riverson
• Setting church in St. Petersburg
• Action
• Minister shared hymns.
• Tom is bored, plays with a pinchbug. Pinchbug
  bites him and gets away. Poodle comes in
  pinchbug bites the poodle.
• The poodle yelps, and because of the commotion,
  the service ends.

6
Chapter 6 Summary

• Characters Tom, Sid, Mary, Polly, Huck, Bob,
  Becky, school mates and the school master
• Setting St. Petersburg, Missouri, home,
  school, street
• Action
• Tom pretends hes dying from his loose tooth to
  get out of going to school.
• Tom meets Huck on his way to school and
  discusses ways to get rid of warts dead cat
  technique, bean technique, spunk water
  technique. They agree to go to the graveyard
  with the cat to get rid of the warts.
• Tom is late for school, gets in trouble and has
  to sit with the girls.
• Tom impresses Becky with his drawing and says
  he will teach her.
• Tom writes I love you on his slate. Becky
  sees it, hits him, but is pleased.

7
Chapter 7 Summary

• Characters Tom, Joe, Becky
• Setting School
• Action
• Tom and Joe are bored in school and play with a
  tick on their slate.
• Teacher punished Tom by hitting him.
• Tom and Becky become engaged, but Becky becomes
  angry when she learns he was once engaged to Amy
  Lawrence.
• Becky refuses Toms gift of the brass knob.
• Tom leaves school and does not return. Becky
  feels melancholy.

8
Chapter 8 Summary

• Characters
• Tom, Joe, Huck
• Setting
• forest in St. Petersburg
• Action
• Tom feels melancholy because of Beckys
  rejection wants to die temporarily.
• Tom decides to play pirate and Robin Hood, his
  favorite game, with Joe and Huck.

9
Chapter 9 Summary

• CharactersTom, Huck, Muff Potter, Dr.
  Robinson, Injun Joe
• Setting cemetery in St. Petersburg
• Action
• Huck meows for Tom and the two go to the
  graveyard with the dead cat to get rid of Hucks
  warts.
• They witness Dr. Robinson, Muff Potter and Injun
  Joe rob a grave. Injun Joe kills the doctor over
  a past grudge and frames Muff Potter.
• Huck and Tom flee the scene.

10
Chapter 10 Summary

• Characters Tom, Huck, Sid, Aunt Polly, Muff
  Potter
• Setting the tannery, Toms home
• Action
• Tom and Huck swear an oath in blood never to
  reveal what they know happened in the cemetery.
  They hear Muff Potter snoring in the building
  with them.
• Sid tells Aunt Polly that Tom snuck out at night
  she is upset.
• Becky returns the brass knob. Tom is heartbroken.

11
Chapter 11 summary

• Characters Tom, Sid, Muff Potter, Polly, Injun
  Joe
• Setting St. Petersburg
• Action
• The town learns of the murder. School is
  cancelled because of the excitement.
• Muff shows up Injun Joe says Muff murdered Dr.
  Robinson Muff hauled off to jail.
• Toms conscience bothers him. He cant sleep
  thinking about Muffs innocence.
• The town is afraid of Injun Joe and wont press
  any charges against him.

12
Chapter 12 summary

• Characters Tom, Aunt Polly, Peter the cat
• Setting St. Petersburg
• Action
• Humor breaks the tension of the murder.
• Tom is sick and falls victim to Aunt Pollys
  cures.
• Aunt Polly realizes she is not helping Tom when
  she sees how Peter the cat suffers when Tom gives
  his some of Aunt Pollys medicine.

13
Chapter 13 summary

• Characters Tom, Joe, Huck
• Setting Jackson Island
• Action
• The boys run away to be pirates. Tom feels
  unappreciated and Joe has been unjustly punished.
  Huck is always ready for adventure.
• Conscience bothers the boys. As pirates, they
  agree they will no longer steal food.

14
Chapter 14 summary

• Characters Tom, Joe, Huck
• Setting Jackson Island 3 miles long and ¼
  mile wide
• Action
• The boys have fun playing and fishing on the
  island.
• They begin to feel homesick.
• Cannon shots from St. Petersburg signal the
  search for drowning victims.
• Tom leaves treasures and a note for the boys and
  heads for the sandbar. Where is he going?

15
Chapter 15 summary

• Characters Tom, Aunt Polly, Mrs. Harper, Mary,
  Sid
• Setting St. Petersburg
• Action
• Tom sneaks home to tell Aunt Polly that they are
  just off being pirates.
• After finding the raft and no sign of Tom or
  Joe, Aunt Polly and Mrs. Harper are planning the
  boys funerals.
• Tom hides under the bed and listens to a very
  sad Aunt Polly. He plans on leaving her a note,
  but changes his mind. When she is sound asleep,
  he kisses her and leaves.

16
Chapter 16 summary

• Characters Tom, Joe and Huck
• Setting Jackson Island
• Action
• The boys hunt for and cook turtle eggs. They
  play circus and marbles.
• Homesickness begins to creep in. Joe admits it
  first. Tom shares a secret that makes them want
  to stay.
• Tom and Joe smoke with Huck. They pretend to be
  cool with it, but both get sick. Not wanting to
  admit that they are feeling sick, Tom and Joe
  claim to be looking for a knife, but just want to
  get away from the smoking.
• A big storm blows in.
• The boys play Indian and smoke a peace pipe.

17
Chapter 17 summary

• Characters Tom, Huck, Joe, Aunt Polly, Mary,
  Sid, the Harpers, townspeople, the minister,
  Becky
• Setting a church in St. Petersburg
• Action
• Becky is sad. She misses Tom and wishes she had
  kept the knob. All the kids remember the last
  time they saw Tom.
• The townspeople gather for the boys funeral.
  Tom, Joe and Huck come down the aisle and
  surprise the mourners. All are happy to see the
  boys. Even Huck gets hugs from Aunt Polly.

18
Chapter 18 summary

• Characters Tom, Aunt Polly, Mary, Sid, Becky,
  Alfred Temple
• Setting Toms house, schoolyard
• Action
• Tom says he had a dream about what was going
  on while he was on the island. He tells Aunt
  Polly everything she said and did (he actually
  was there). She believes his dream and goes to
  tell Sereny Harper.
• Tom sees Becky at school, but talks only to Amy.
  Becky flirts with Alfred Temple, who spills ink
  on purpose onToms book. Becky sees, this ,but
  doesnt tell.

19
Chapter 19 summary

• Characters Tom, Aunt Polly
• Setting Toms house
• Action
• Tom tells Aunt Polly that he intended to tell
  her about being pirates by leaving a note, but
  decided not to and tucked the note in his pocket.
• Aunt Polly finds the note and feels sorry she
  doubted him

20
Chapter 20 summary

• Characters Tom, Becky, Mr. Dobbins, classmates
• Setting schoolhouse
• Action
• Becky looks at Mr. Dobbins anatomy book. When
  Tom sees what she is doing, she accidentally
  tears a page before putting it back in the desk
  drawer.
• Tom takes Beckys punishment, saying he tore the
  page. Becky is impressed and calls Tom noble.

21
Chapter 21 summary

• Characters Tom and his schoolmates, Mr. Dobbins
• Setting School house
• Action
• It is examination day at school. All of the
  townspeople will be there to listen to the kids
  as they recite what they have learned.
• The students decide to play a prank on the
  nervous Mr. Dobbins.
• While he is writing on the board, a cat drops
  down from the ceiling and snatches Mr. Dobbins
  wig, revealing that the kids have painted his
  bald head gold.

22
Chapter 22 summary

• Characters Tom, Joe, Huck, townspeople
• Setting St. Petersburg
• Action
• It is summer and Tom joins the Cadets of
  Temperance because he loves their uniforms. He
  has to vow not to drink, smoke or swear, which he
  wants to do now more than ever. He cant take
  this so he quits.
• A revival comes to town and Joe and Huck find
  religion.
• Tom gets the measles a few times, and Joe and
  Huck return to their old ways.

23
Chapter 23 summary

• Characters Tom, Muff, Injun Joe, lawyers,
  judge, courtroom audience.
• Setting Courtroom
• Action It is Muff Potters trial. Injun Joe
  has just told his side of the story. The lawyer
  calls Tom to the stand who tells about seeing
  Injun Joe kill the doctor.
• Injun Joe escapes by jumping through a window.
• Tom fears what will happen next.

24
Chapter 24 summary

• Characters Tom, Huck
• Setting St. Petersburg
• Action
• Tom is considered a hero by the town, but his
  nights are full of worry. Will Injun Joe come
  back to seek his revenge?