Carol Gilligan’s study ‘In …show more content…
Not just suited for tending to a child and household chores, but women such as Aunt Polly, The Widow Douglas, and Mary who become substitute fathers. These forgotten fathers where satirically absent to allude to the absurdity of patriarchal society. Aunt Polly is both the mother and father figure in Tom’s life. She provides the tender loving nature of a mother as she tends to him whilst ill, cooks and clean for them, constantly worries about his wellbeing. To the contrary, the read sees this shift from a motherly role to a more dominant and enforcing father role. She disciplines the children and is the breadwinner for the household (Twain 4) . Then the reader is introduced to Tom’s cousin Mary who serves as a spiritual guide, similar a minister. She stresses the necessity of reading the bible and praying more than the towns minister himself. Namesake for the Virgin Mary, she serves as this ideal good Christian role (Twain 31) . Lastly the Widow Douglas acts as a surrogate father for Huckleberry Finn, whose father is a stone cold, neglecting drunkard. She feeds, cares for, and even financially supports Huck Finn in the emotional, mental, and financial absence of his biological …show more content…
Tom sawyer has mastered the power of persuasion. He can talk his way out of any situation, and even when someone thinks they are gaining the upper hand on him they fall into their predetermined roles he assigned. This manipulation on the people in his town is established when he convinces all the town boys to give him stuff to do his punishment of whitewashing the fence, and when he convinces everyone in town that, Joe Harper, Huck Finn, and him are dead. Mark Twain uses a convergence of reality and superstition from Tom to invoke deep thought in the reader; motivating them to modify their way of life so that it is more meaningful. Twain introduces the concept of a healthy balance between superstition and reality. In order to be superstitious in must abide by the following rule: must not exceed certain measures within the realm of normal limits, must be momentary or temporary, and must attempt to explain the unknown. One must also take not that we cannot simply abandon everything as unexplainable and ignore purpose, because without a sense of determinism, life is meaningless (Freud 81). A healthy balance means motivation and motivation means a chance to progress. Mark Twain instils these convictions in