Tom Sawyer is a young boy living with his Aunt Polly on the banks of the Mississippi River. He seems to most enjoy getting into trouble. After missing school one day (and getting into a fight), Tom is punished with the task of whitewashing a fence. However, he turns the punishment into a bit of entertainment and tricks other boys to finish the work for him. He convinces the boys that the chore is a great honor, so he receives small, precious objects in payment.


Around this time, Tom falls in love with a young girl, Becky Thatcher. He suffers under a whirlwind romance and engagement to her before she shuns him after she hears of Tom's previous engagement to Amy Lawrence. He tries to win Becky back, but it doesn't go well. She refuses a gift he tries to give her. Humiliated, Tom runs off and dreams up a plan to run away.

It's around this time that Tom runs into Huckleberry Finn, who would be the titular character in Twain's next and most acclaimed novel. Huck and Tom agree to meet in the graveyard at midnight to test a scheme to cure warts involving a dead cat.

The boys meet at the graveyard, which brings the novel to its pivotal scene when they witness a murder. Injun Joe kills Dr. Robinson and tries to blame it on the drunken Muff Porter. Injun Joe is unaware that the boys have seen what he's done.


Afraid of the consequences of this knowledge, he and Huck swear an oath of silence. However, Tom becomes deeply depressed when Muff goes to jail for Robinson's murder.

After yet another rejection by Becky Thatcher, Tom and Huck run off with their friend Joe Harper. They steal some food and head to Jackson's Island. They're not there long before they discover a search party looking for three boys presumed drowned and realize they are the boys in question.

They play along with the charade for a while and don't reveal themselves until their "funerals," marching into the church to the surprise and consternation of their families.

Tom continues his flirtation with Becky with limited success over summer vacation. Eventually, overcome with guilt, he testifies at the trial of Muff Potter, exonerating him of Robinson's murder. Potter is released, and Injun Joe escapes through a window in the courtroom.

The court case isn't Tom's last encounter with Injun Joe, however. In the final part of the novel, he and Becky (newly reunited) get lost in one of the caves. Here, Tom stumbles across his archenemy. Escaping his clutches and finding his way out, Tom manages to alert the townspeople, who lock up the cave while leaving Injun Joe inside.

Our hero ends up ​happy, however, as he and Huck discover a box of gold (that once belonged to Injun Joe), and the money is invested for them. Tom finds happiness and — much to his distress — Huck finds respectability by being adopted.