What I researched and Why: Growing up, I was read bedtime stories by my mother and father, one of which was "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," the brother story to Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." I don't remember much of the story besides various anecdotes but I do remember enjoying it very much. So, when considering which topic/story to blog about I immediately rushed to Tom Sawyer because of my enjoyment of Huck Finn. After reading the first few chapters, my fondness for the rebellious characters of Twain's creation has been rekindled, with what I hope is a more mature understanding and appreciation of the themes than I had as a young child.
What I found: Searching the internet for relevant Tom Sawyer media proved harder than I would have expected. Most websites were places to read the full text, or an excerpt of the text (the whitewashing section from chapter 2 being particularly popular), or finally a location to buy various versions of the text. What I did stumble across was a music video of the song Tom Sawyer by the classic 80's band Rush, the lyrics of which are obviously inspired by our character Tom Sawyer.
My Interpretation: My interpretation of this little gem is two fold. Firstly, the lyrics of the song hold what I feel like is a good representation of the basic character of Tom Sawyer (at least as much as I have read) , along with using Tom as a way of describing various characteristic of society. The line "Always hopeful, yet discontent," is an almost perfect portrayal of Tom through the first 6 chapters of the book. One passage which illustrates this most clearly is when he talks about wishing he could die without acknowledging his aunt when she hits him for breaking the sugar bowl, he wallows in self pity wishing that he could teach her a lesson despite the fact that his desired lesson would leave him dead. Another instance where he lives up to the hopeful yet discontent paradigm is when he "shows off" outside of the new girls house, unhappy that she is not visible to him, but hopeful that she is watching from behind closed windows. Rush also uses the character of Tom Sawyer to criticize society, saying "And what you say about his company, Is what you say about society." A clever analogy which I read as, we may enjoy or trust some facet of society, but at the same time we feel like it is getting the better of us somehow (take the television we watch or magazines we read as examples, and then think of the advertising that bombards us in both forms), and we only realize that it has duped us when it laughs in our faces or shows us how wrong it was to be so trusting and easily persuaded. This is something Tom does masterfully in the opening chapters, tricking the other children into whitewashing the fence, and trading them their own things back to get a coveted Bible.
A second form of interpretation is in the existence of the song itself and how Tom, a classic literary character, can jump into mainstream popular culture. This I think is a virtue of Tom's character and the ease with which so many of us can identify with various aspects of his personality, which Mark Twain describes in his preface as a combination of three boys he grew up knowing.
What I think it adds to our discussion: In class we have discussed the various ways in which a text can be analyzed, we have also talked about whether all texts which are considered children's literature are truly appropriate for them. This song, I think, does a good job of hitting upon both of those issues. It clearly uses the character of Tom Sawyer to make a political sort of commentary, which I think goes hand in hand with a historical analysis, because politics cannot be taken out of context with the history in which they fall. Rush uses Tom to make their own criticism of society and my guess is that Mark Twain did the same thing when writing the book back in his own time. Another aspect of the song is the universality of the lyrics with respect to an audience, not singling out a particular group of people, and therefore making it enjoyable to a wide audience (provided you like the style of music). Tom and his book are similar with respect to the universality of their target audience and how they can be enjoyed and interpreted by all ages. Mark Twain specifically says that he writes not only for the enjoyment of children but also for adults to remember childhood with fondness.
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5 comments:
It's funny that a quaint character from the 1880's would resurface in a big-hair-band ballad of the 1980's. I agree with Daniel that the lyric, "Always hopeful, yet discontent," becomes a crucial theme that successfully spans a century. Living a life that people of the modern day would discount as simple, the restless Tom indulges his whims in one brazen act after another, constantly testing the community's patience. It could also summarize the tides of rebellion and ennui that marked the end of the 20th century, where the political and social atmosphere created the "golden handcuffs" that entrapped businesspeople amidst decadence and excess. The times have changed, yet people continue to yearn for liberation from the obligations of monotonous life. No matter our age or circumstances, we, like Tom, want to be free to play and escape the perpetual nagging of the work world.
The fact that this song exists at all brings up an interesting point. While some critics like to dismiss the importance of children's literature and culture (including many amateur ones who question the relevance of taking a class like this), it is hard to ignore the lasting effects these stories have on our development. Maybe it is their accessibility, or the fact that it is introduced to us at such a young age, but children's literature, even stories as old as Tom Sawyer, still hold very distinct places in poplar culture. The sucesses on the Shrek franchise and all the Potter/Rings/Narnia craziness are the best examples of how the public still really connects with the ideas and characters of its collective childhood. Maybe it's just that Dr. Seuss is more fun to talk about than Chaucer, or that during stressful times it is natural to look back towards childhood's safety and innocence, but there must be something that allows these stories to continue to resonate inside of us today.
This is a really great way to gain a new perspective on "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". I definitely would not have thought the band Rush would choose this little adventure seeking boy to be the star of one of their songs. I do think you are right when you say they are using his character, and probably Mark Twain's thoughts on the society of the day, to talk about what their personal thoughts are in the 80's. I wonder if Tom Sawyer would agree with their perspective of his creation.
I think you were right on when you said that Tom seemed "always hopeful, yet discontent." That seems to be the theme through all of what I've read so far also. It seems almost healthy, like it's pushing him forward, and it also seems to be making the naughty child character not seem so bad.
Danielle Roost
Nicely put Sam, I couldn't agree more. Children's literature and culture have quite a link between them.
To add on to your examples of Potter/Rings/Shrek, and Narnia, I also offer Charlotte's Web.
I'm not sure about everyone else, but I read that book when I was a child, but just recently it's come to light again when Nickelodeon released a live action movie version.
Also, although it was only a television show and movies, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has been revived recently as well. However, the "young'uns" these days call them the "TMNT".
Heheh, funny how everything old is new again...
First off, Rush is great, in a funny 80's sort of way. But I find it very interesting that a band should compose a song using Sawyer as the basis. This song was pretty popular in the 80s (from what I remember) and was one of Rush's earliest hits. This goes to show the influence that children's literature has on people, even to this day.
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