reading · Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday: Tom Sawyer

Sonia Lal

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

  • Grab your current read
  • Open to a random page
  • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
  • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser:

He’ll play hookey this evening, and I’ll just be obleeged to make him work tomorrow, to punish him. It’s mighty hard to make him work Saturdays, when all the boys is having holiday, but he hates work more than he hates anything else, and I’ve got  to do some of my duty by him, or I’ll be the ruination of the child.”

– Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

I chose these two lines because:

1) I am tickled pink by how “evening” is Southwestern for afternoon. Who knew?

2) The spelling – phonetic spelling? – of obleeged. LOL It just strikes me as funny.

3) This is from one of the longest monologues I’ve ever read. As a way to do exposition,  establish the aunt’s character, and her and Tom’s relationship, I guess it’s pretty good.

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42 thoughts on “Teaser Tuesday: Tom Sawyer”

  6. I was born in Texas and lived in many parts of the Southwest. No one around me ever used the word evening until well past supper, generally about the time the sun was setting. Makes me wonder about that footnote.

    Reply

    1. Maybe the language has just changed since it was published first. Afterall, it was published 135 years ago, in 1876. Some words must have changed in all that time. But if you don’t believe me, the google version of the book has the footnote as well. here, on page 19: http://books.google.com/books?id=yBYmAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=adventures+of+tom+sawyer&hl=en&ei=2sjSTeOuOO6D0QGim4nxCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

      Reply

      1. This has turned out to be the most intriguing teaser this week.

        I’m wondering if the time period might even have affected what they consider the Southwest. After all, isn’t the book set near the Mississippi River? I know The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is, and I thought they started in the same town. It’s been too long since I’ve read them.

        Reply

      2. So far it doesn’t say, but Huckleberry Finn book does (at least if I remember the TV version right.)

        Ha! It does. I looked up the cliffnotes for Tom Sawyer. It’s the same town Mark Twain grew up in, just altered a little bit, including name. In the book it’s called St. Petersburg, but cliffnotes says, the town would be on the Mississippi River, about 80 miles north of St. Louis. That’s not the Southwest.

        I got find out now what people considered the Southwest when this book was written.

        Now I have to go find out people considered the southwest when this book was written.

        Reply

    2. yeah, probably. I’ve gotten far enough to get the name of the town: St. Petersburge. Just like cliffnotes said, though the book hasn’t mentioned the Mississippi River by name yet.

      I am still trying to figure out how to find out if that area was once considered part of the Southwest.

      Reply

  9. I know this counts as a classic, but I have to confess I’ve never read it, but your teaser is great, may have a look.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. 😀

    Reply

  13. I enjoy Mark Twain–I’ve been reading some of his early essays and find them quite interesting. Thanks for stopping by.

    Reply

  14. A classic! I’m reading Watership Down at the moment. It’s good to pull out the old but proven classics every once and awhile.

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  15. I remember reading this A LONG time ago. I don’t remember much about it though. Great teaser and thanks for stopping by mine! 🙂

    Reply

  16. It’s hard for me to admit, but I’ve never actually read Tom Sawyer. I’ve read Huckleberry Finn, but not Tom Sawyer. I need to. I love Mark Twain. And, yes, I love that local color – a.k.a. creative spelling! 😉

    Reply

  18. Oh! Interesting teaser. I haven’t read this one, although I’ve seen it around a whole lot. Are you enjoying it?

    Thanks for stopping by! So sorry for hopping by late, but school took over! (4 tests since Tuesday! Sigh.)

    Rebecca @ kindle fever

    Reply

  19. Not read this for many years – initially read it in class at an (English) public school – considerable culture shock! Thanks for the reminder

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