The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer follows Tom, a mischievous boy living with his Aunt Polly in a small town on the Mississippi River. With his friend Huckleberry Finn he witnesses a murder, runs off to be a pirate, gets lost in a cave and finds buried treasure.
Huck Finn later got a book of his own, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Tom Sawyer | Clever, mischievous boy |
| Aunt Polly | Tom's loving, exasperated aunt |
| Huckleberry Finn | Town outcast and Tom's friend |
| Becky Thatcher | Judge's daughter Tom loves |
| Joe Harper | Tom's friend |
| Muff Potter | Drunk wrongly accused of murder |
| Injun Joe | Dangerous villain |
| Sid | Tom's tattletale half-brother |
How does Tom trick his friends?
Punished by Aunt Polly with whitewashing the fence on a Saturday, Tom pretends the job is a rare pleasure. The other boys pay him in treasures for the privilege of painting it. Tom falls for Becky Thatcher, the new girl, and they get engaged, until he lets slip he was once engaged to someone else.
↑ Back to the topWhat do Tom and Huck see in the graveyard?
At midnight Tom and Huck go to the graveyard with a dead cat to cure warts. They see Injun Joe, Muff Potter and young Dr. Robinson digging up a body. A fight breaks out, and Injun Joe kills the doctor with Muff's knife, then convinces the drunken Muff that he did it. The terrified boys swear an oath of silence.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens on Jackson's Island?
Tom, Huck and Joe run away to Jackson's Island to be pirates. The town thinks they have drowned. Tom sneaks home and hears his aunt grieving. The boys return in time to walk in on their own funeral, to everyone's joy.
↑ Back to the topWhat happens at Muff Potter's trial?
Guilt-ridden, Tom testifies at the trial and tells the truth. Injun Joe leaps out of a window and escapes. Tom has nightmares that he will come back for revenge. Later Tom and Huck, hunting treasure in a haunted house, overhear Injun Joe in disguise finding a box of gold coins.
↑ Back to the topHow does Tom Sawyer end?
At a picnic, Tom and Becky get lost in McDougal's Cave for days. Tom glimpses Injun Joe there. He finally finds a way out. Judge Thatcher has the cave sealed, and when Tom says Injun Joe is inside, they find him dead by the door. Tom and Huck return to the cave and find the gold, more than twelve thousand dollars. The Widow Douglas, whom Huck had saved from Injun Joe, takes Huck in. He finds respectable life unbearable, and Tom persuades him to stay by promising to let him join his new robber gang.
↑ Back to the topMore about The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.