Tom Sawyer Close Analysis # 1 (Pg. 80)

For my close analysis #1 of Tom Sawyer I chose the passage where Tom and Huck Finn make a promise to never tell anyone about the murder they witnessed.  The pact that they make is written by Tom and it says, "Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer swears they will keep mum about this and they wish they may Drop down dead in their tracks if they ever tell and Rot."  I chose this passage because I liked how it was written using Tom's voice and sloppy cursive handwriting.  It wasn't Twain narrating their conversation and ideas using sophisticated language, it was Tom's own voice.  I thought that by doing this, Twain was able to show the simplicity but importance of this pact between Tom and Huck.  By writing it in Tom's cursive, Twain was able to show how much this pact meant to the boys and that they were very serious about the consequences of not "keeping mum."  Also, I thought it was interesting that he capitalized the words "Drop" and "Rot."  By capitalizing these two words, I think Twain is emphasizing how normal and natural death is.  He is saying that when you die, you drop like a rock, and rot like a dead tree.  He is showing that Tom and Huck are just as much part of the natural, "wild" world as any tree, rock, or animal.  In conclusion, Twain uses this promise between Tom and Huck to develop his view on the relationship between humans and nature.  He is saying that humans are just another simple part of nature; they are no different than anything else.