Tom's Saturday of Temptation and Deceit - Book Review

Introduction

Tom is the primary character in the story of "Strong Temptation" done by Mark Twain. In the story, various themes manifest conspicuously, but all tend to revolve within the ideologies of temptation and deceit. In a nutshell, Tom is punished by being pushed to whitewash the fence, which he seemingly appears not to agree with, because it will perhaps prevent him from enjoying the day like the rest of friends. To worsen the situation, the day was a Saturday, that most children, especially his agemates, considered a play day since they are compelled to attend school in most of the days. It thus indicates that Tom will probably be laughed at by his friends if he is found whitewashing. The thought "burnt him like fire" (Twain, 1980, p. 15). Nevertheless, Tom used the theme of deceit to challenge his friends that he was instead enjoying the whitewashing task. In the end, Tom bankrupts and enslaves other children to do the work for him. An analysis of this story presents the reality that individuals often get tempted with whatever they don't have, and that others equally get exploited easily because of their abilities to submit to deceits straightforwardly.

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Theme of Temptation

It is evident from the story of "Strong Temptations" that people usually become attracted to the things that they are out of reach, instead of those that they can easily access. For instance, Tom was placed in a situation of participating in an activity that none of his friends had engaged in before. Realistically, the task was meant to be a punishment for Tom, but it was instead kind of unique one since the majority of children were point-blank, if such a task existed before. Progressively, Tom decides to brainwash one of his friends called Ben by asking him a rhetorical question, “does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?” (Twain, 1980, p. 15). The question specifically manipulated the thoughts of Ben to start believing that the task of whitewashing was kind of an extraordinary job that he equally needed to venture into. To make it more interesting, Tom further reacts to his question by stating that “Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain’t. All I know, is it suits Tom Sawyer” (Twain, 1980, p. 16)

Notably, the assertation that this job is meant for him makes Ben gain admiration for the job, even though the task best suits Tom and not him, who had not made any mistake to get punished. Therefore, Ben requests Tom for an opportunity to have a test of the job, although he is out of the knowledge that the whole story is geared to trick him. To prove that he is actually into the need of whitewashing the fence, Ben stated, “I’ll give you the core of my apple” (Twain, 1980, p. 30) It indicated that he was willing to sacrifice anything in the expense of engaging in the task. For this reason, Ben is seen to be tempted to participate in an activity that he absolutely should not be engaged in instead of playing like he usually does on other Saturdays.

The same case with Ben was true with other friends, who were corrupted and duped for them to help in the whitewashing task as a value for exchange. The friends initially perceived the whitewashing task as one beyond them, but through trickery approaches, Tom convinces almost all of them to admire making attempts for the task. The notion is an everyday reality of whatever is taking place in an ideal world. For instance, people who lack things, but seriously need them to tend to be manipulated so quickly to do different things, at the cost of achieving those that they lack. Correctly, an example of one walking along the street can be taken. The person first admires vehicles and wishes that he or she owns one. However, the same individual would wish to own a jet if a car was given to him or her. The needs are endless, and people get tempted consistently to achieve what is beyond their reach.

Theme of Deception

In the story of "Strong Temptations," it is outstandingly evident that a majority fall into deceits that eventually make them enact as slaves through agreeing to participate in exploitative notions. In the opening stages of the story, the relationship between Tom and Jim is shown. Even though Jim appeared to be attracted to the task, Tom did not create a deceptive environment for him; hence he did not participate. However, the moment he began using deceits, the like of Ben and his friends were all brainwashed to do the job. Perhaps, he exceedingly raised the bar for them, to the point that they believed that the task was unique and special. At first, Ben promised that “I’ll give you a bit of apple” to be allowed to have a test for the task (p. 36). However, Tom further deceives him and scares him that he should not engage in whitewashing if he only wants to give a bite. As a result, Ben changes his mind and promises that “I’ll give you all of it!” (Twain, 1980) It shows that he is fully willing to lose the whole of his apple to engage in a lousy job. Eventually, all the friends went bankrupt, by giving Tom their food products, for them to be allowed in the whitewashing job. As a result, "Tom had had a nice, good, idle time all the while—plenty of company—and the fence had three coats of whitewash on it! If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have bankrupted every boy in the village” (Twain, 1980, p. 22) It shows that people often get exploited through falling into deceits in acts of humiliation and victimization.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the story “Strong Temptations” explains how people can easily fall into deceits and finally get tempted to obtain things that they do not have. Meanwhile, it is absurd that, occasionally, people usually have whatever they need for sustenance, only to think of what they cannot obtain. From the story, Bob and other Tom's friends get cheated that whitewashing job is exceptional, although readers understand that it was a punishment. In the end, the friends gave Tom their items just to assist him in completing the punishment, which is a true reflection of the two themes, temptation, and deception.

Reference

Twain, M. (1980). The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom Sawyer Abroad, and Tom Sawyer, Detective (Vol. 4). Univ of California Press.
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