Mahmud Bezalel
In the ending scenes of the book, Tom Sawyer, there is a conversation between two kids, and most people might have overlooked its significance.
For those who haven’t read it, the kids were Huck & Tom, and they’re just like every average street kid who hates school and wants to spend all their time playing and creating adventures.
However, in that ending scene, some incidents happen to change their fortunes.
Huck, who hitherto was not a pupil of any school, had been adopted by a rich lady and placed in school, in a bid to put him in a better standing for his future.
Sadly, Huck was so used to his street ways that he found the change discomforting.
In his conversation with Tom, Huck said, “Tom, it doesn’t make no difference. I am not everybody, and I can’t stand it. It’s awful to be tied up so. And grub comes too easy––I don’t take any interest in vittles, that way. I got to ask, to go a-fishing; I got to ask, to go in a-swimming––darned if I hadn’t got to ask to do everything. Well, I’d got to talk so nice it wasn’t no comfort––I’d got to go up in the attic and rip out a while, every day, to get a taste in my mouth, or I’d a died, Tom.”
These conversations clearly implied that Huck found the change from a street urchin to a gentleman too discomforting, the well-mannered behaviour he had to learn was becoming too much. He then informed Tom Sawyer of his decision to run away.
Now, here’s where the significance of this scene comes in.
Tom, being a former street urchin himself, understood Huck’s complaints perfectly, he also understood the importance of the change they had undergone and why they had to leave it at that. Furthermore, he realized the need to dissuade Huck from running away and to do it in a way that Huck would find irresistible.
He then told Huck that only respectable people would be allowed into the gang, as this would differentiate them from other gangs.
Having heard this, Huck promised Tom that he wouldn’t run away; rather, he’d learn all there was to learn and do all that was necessary to do if that would guarantee him a place in Tom’s gang.
You see, Tom’s actions may seem insignificant, but in a world where most people prefer to lie to their friends, rather than tell the truth and risk incurring their ire, this lesson has never been more important.
Tom understood that trying to convince Huck not to leave would have been futile, so he simply used what he loved doing to entrap him, knowing that it was all for Huck’s benefit.
Two major lessons from this: Diplomacy and Honesty.
Knowing how to present your case in such a way that the other person has no choice but to accept it. And knowing to always say the truth to your friends, no matter how hurtful it might be to them.
Essential virtues in a world that is becoming more interested in sugar-coating truths and falsehood. Many years after he wrote ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’, Mark Twain (the pen name for Samuel Langhorne Clemens) continues to teach significant lessons through it.
What other lessons did you learn?