Oliver Twist and The adventures of Tom Sawyer are two timeless tales loved and read by generations of children and adults. Here, Imeth de Silva talks about these two very popular books.
Oliver Twist
Oliver Twist is an orphan in the early 1830s,who spent most of his childhood in a workhouse, where the children were overworked and underfed. After asking for more food than he was entitled to he was sent to work as an apprentice to an undertaker. He was severely ill treated and runs away only to find himself in the middle of a gang of children, who are pickpockets and works for a thief called Fagin. When the boys pick pocket Mr. Brownlow, Oliver is mistakenly caught and arrested.
But when Mr. Brownlow learns more about Oliver, he decides to take care of him. But Fagin will not rest until he gets Oliver back. Oliver knows too much about them.
Nancy, who is with Bill Sikes, one of Fagin’s men, successfully takes Oliver away from Mr. Brownlow and Oliver finds himself in the middle of a burglary mission.
Oliver is shot in the arm and is now taken care by a family called Maylies. While he is there, Fagin meets up with a person called Monks and plots to get Oliver back. Mr. Brownlow and the Maylies get to know about this from Nancy, who got killed by Bill Sikes for her betrayal.
Oliver is finally reunited with Mr. Brownlow and they find out that Monks is actually Oliver’s half-brother and is therefore entitled to a share of a fortune left behind for him. Fagin is hung in the end and Bill Sikes kills himself. The story has a happy ending with Oliver being adopted by Mr. Brownlow.
This story by Charles Dickens portrays qualities such as bravery, honesty, kindness and determination which could be seen throughout Oliver’s adventures. It also gives us a glimpse of the social standards back in the early days and about the poverty and the difficulties the poor had to undergo.
Tom Sawyer
Tom Sawyer is a mischievous boy who lives in a Mississippi river town, with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid. He is clever and quick- witted and manages to evade his punishments by turning them into a source of entertainment.
He falls in love with a new girl in town called Becky Thatcher and tries to get ‘engaged’ with her. But that plan never succeeded. Not soon after, Tom and his friend, Huckleberry Finn sneak into the town’s graveyard at night to test out a cure for warts.
However, they were in for a shock, as they witnessed a murder in the graveyard. Dr.Robinson was killed by Injun Joe. Tom and Huck swore never to reveal what they saw, as they were scared of Injun Joe.
Muff Potter, a companion of Injun Joe, is wrongfully accused and arrested for the murder. Tom was filled with guilt as he knew the truth.
Many events take place afterwards, such as the time when Tom and Huck and another friend of theirs called, Joe Harper decide to run off ito an island to be pirates.
They were thought to be dead after an unsuccessful search of many days.
Tom planned to make their timely arrival at their supposed funeral, surprising everyone present. Tom gets into the good books of Becky after taking the blame for a ripped book at school.
Overcome by guilt, Tom finally speaks the truth about the murder and Muff Potter was freed while Injun Joe scarcely managed to from escape the court room.
Next, Tom and Huck went treasure hunting near a ‘haunted house’ when they spotted Injun Joe in disguise with another companion.
They find some treasure and gold and take it away, leaving Tom and Huck dismayed.
However, Huck follows Injun Joe, while looking for an opportunity to regain the treasure. Huck overhears their plan to attack the Widow Douglas and manages to fetch help just in time and became a hero.
That same day, Tom, Becky and their classmates went on a picnic to the McDougal’s Cave. Tom and Beckygot lost in the caves and the search parties were unable to discover them. Tom, looking for a way out, jumps ontoInjun Joe, who was using the caves as a hideout. Finally, Tom finds a way out of the cave while Injun Joe was trapped inside. He starves to death.
Tom and Huck take a share of the treasure they discovered and the story ends with Huckleberry Finn gettinga dopted by the Widow Douglas, although he didn’t like it much.
This book, written by Mark Twain is an action packed story story filled with much adventure and excitement. It keeps you on the edge of your seat,making you wonder what Tom would do next!