The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Setting Essay Example

The story of  “Tom Sawyer” was during the late 1870s and takes place in the midwest of the USA. Knowing where and when a story takes place is important for analyzing it’s setting. In “Tom Sawyer,” the characters’ speech and the activities children attend vary from nowadays and also alter with differing locations. I will be analyzing where and when “Tom Sawyer” takes place and how it affects the characters’ speech and youth pastimes. 

Speech refers to a few things. It includes the drawl of the location. It also refers to the figurative language that incorporates religion, which was common in the past. Over time, the English vocabulary has changed, meaning, things that were called one thing then are called a different thing now. Vocabulary differs also due to varying locations. Since speech plays such a prominent role in setting, the characters speech in “Tom Sawyer” is much influenced by the time and place. 

Where and when also affects youth activities. “Tom Sawyer” is a story about the antics of youth, therefore, what the children are doing is almost the whole of the book. Some examples of pastimes in this story are swimming in the river, trading knick knacks, playing rough, playing pretend and doing child-like superstitious activities. Different cultures have varying pastimes which the era and location are the ruling factor. 

It is important for a story to include the characters' speech as well as what they do because often the reader can gain knowledge of other cultures than their own. If “Tom Sawyer” had been during the 21st century, the speech and activities would have to change because our culture has changed. However, the story only flows so well because the reader can enjoy knowing what life used to be like in that area. For the reader, this embellishes the story, while not losing the goal of easy comprehension. 

In conclusion, Mark Twain’s captivating tale easily bounds culture and setting together, which can either give the reader a feeling of newness or nostalgia. He grasped the way the characters thought and acted very well. “Tom Sawyer”'s setting is also historically accurate and can be easily acclaimed by historians. Twain fulfilled his purpose of grappling not just the young reader's interest but adult indulgence.