I think there was a valid point made in class regarding Tom Sawyer vs Ragged Dick. I had said from the beginning that I did not like Ragged Dick and thought he was a brat because he was boastful and rude (or at least I thought) toward Johnny when he said, for example, about his new clothes that he got from Frank. He told Johnny that he “lent [his] clothes to a young feller as was goin’ to a party, and didn’t have non fit to wear, and do [he] put on [his] second best for a change” (p285).
Tom Sawyer I liked just because I think he is an adorable little boy and that he is smart. I think I like him a lot more mostly because I knew him (the story) from earlier years. Tom’s whole stunt with the fence whitewashing, I totally loved it! When I first read this in previous years I thought it was genius! I did this with my brother and the dishes…until of course he got old enough to figure it out. Tom just learned that “in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is necessary to make the thing difficult to attain” (p330-331).
Now, of course I am sure there are some that see what I am writing and think its crazy that I can like one boy that pulls jokes on his friends and call it genius and not like the other who is just playing a joke on his friend. I think though a point was made in class that Dick is the way he is because he was raised in the city and he has to do things in order to survive. While I commend him for that, I don’t like the way he handles him self, like when he scared the apple lady with the taxes issue. Tom however, is a country boy and does not have to earn his living or live on the streets, he plays jokes because he is just a kid playing jokes. All little boys play jokes on each other. I just happen to like the way that Tom handles himself better than I like the way Dick handled himself.
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Courtney
ReplyDeleteI found your blog very enjoyable to read! I, too, found myself liking Tom more than Dick. I agree that it probably is because I knew of Tom and his shenanigans before reading the excerpt for this class. It is interesting that this can have such an effect on the reader! You made some great observations!
I feel that internally we can connect more with Tom, rather than Ragged Dick. For the most part, we all have parents or some form of guardianship. That makes it hard to relate with Ragged Dick because we do not fully understand taking care of ourselves at a such a young age. With Tom, readers remember tricking people to do what they want and have fun in life. Great observations!
ReplyDeleteThere is a difference in the way that Tom plays tricks versus how Dick plays tricks. I think that it might have to do with the fact of where they are brought up and the environment they live in. Since Dick lives in a society where it doesn't seem like many people have his back, he almost seems older like he should know better. In Tom's case he is able to play tricks, but he is only doing chores not earning his living and he always has his aunt to fall back on if something happens.
ReplyDeleteCourtney,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I have to agree with you too. I think that I enjoy reading Tom Swayer character more than Dick's. He is a little mischevious kid that I feel we can all relate to somehow. Reading about him reminds me of my own childhood. Even though Tom plays tricks on people like Dick I percieve Tom's jokes as more innocent.