Tom Sawyer Character Analysis Essay

What even is integrity? In the book, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer written by Mark Twain, Tom’s integrity is questioned, a lot… In the small town of St. Petersburg, Tom does many controversial and debatable things. In my essay, you will find out why Tom doesn’t have the slightest bit of integrity.

Tom Sawyer is the troublemaker of the town! Tom loves to flimflam with his friends and family. It’s almost impossible for Tom to have fun and adventure without his sidekick, so he has Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn is around fourteen and is the kid to stay away from. Not to mention Tom and Huck are best friends. According to Dictionary.Com Integrity is defined as honesty when no one’s watching. Not to mention, one of our Cape Henry core values is Integrity. We encounter many situations like this daily where we should do what’s right when no one’s watching. For example, if you see a phone laying on the ground, you shouldn’t take it, you should report it and return it to the office. As you read, see if you agree or disagree with me about Tom’s integrity level. 

Tom doesn’t have integrity. He lies about many things. One time, Tom played hooky to go to the pool and lied to his Aunt Polly about it.  He even sewed his collar so no one would find out! When Tom faked his mouth hurting, Aunt Polly gave him painkillers. Tom didn’t appreciate the medicine as much as he should’ve and he just gave them to his cat and lied about where they went. Tom not only lies, but he has stolen too. Tom and Huck went pirating for fun once to get away. They needed food to live off of so they stole food from their families and other people. 

Tom might not always lie, but he sure does twist the truth. When Tom was tasked with the annoying chore to whitewash the fence, he convinced his friends it was fun and made the trade “valuables” for it. Tom said “Like it? Well, I don't see why I oughtn’t to like it.” (Twain, 23) Tom was disloyal to Amy Lawrence. When in a serious, heartfelt conversation Tom lied that he had never been engaged before when really, he was engaged to Becky Thatcher. Tom dropped Becky for Amy. Tom is definitely short on integrity. If you don’t think so yourself, you might want to read the book. Once you do, you will know i'm not kidding!  

Now, do you agree? Tom doesn’t have integrity! Not a single ounce of it. Tom has done many things with and without his friends that shouldn’t have been done. He played hooky, faked sick, ran away, twisted the truth, stolen, lied, pranked helpless people, the list could go on and on! Overall, Tom needs to work on his integrity. Wouldn’t you say so?