The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

by

Mark Twain

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer makes teaching easy.

Mr. Dobbins Character Analysis

The local teacher. Mr. Dobbins is a pompous disciplinarian with a vindictive nature. As a youth he dreamed of becoming a doctor, and keeps an anatomy book hidden in his desk. On Examination day, just before summer vacation, the schoolchildren get revenge upon him for his punishments by dropping a cat from the ceiling to swipe off his wig and reveal to their parents his bald head, painted gold while he was passed out drunk.

Mr. Dobbins Quotes in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The The Adventures of Tom Sawyer quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Dobbins or refer to Mr. Dobbins. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Boyhood Rebellion and Growing Up Theme Icon
).
Chapter 21 Quotes
The tittering rose higher and higher—the cat—was within six inches of the absorbed teachers head—down, down, a little lower, and she grabbed his wig with her desperate claws, clung to it and was snatched up into the garret in an instant with her trophy still in her possession! And how the light did blaze abroad from the master's bald pate—for the sign-painter's boy had gilded it!
Related Characters: Mr. Dobbins, The sign-painters boy
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Adventures of Tom Sawyer LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer PDF

Mr. Dobbins Quotes in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The The Adventures of Tom Sawyer quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Dobbins or refer to Mr. Dobbins. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Boyhood Rebellion and Growing Up Theme Icon
).
Chapter 21 Quotes
The tittering rose higher and higher—the cat—was within six inches of the absorbed teachers head—down, down, a little lower, and she grabbed his wig with her desperate claws, clung to it and was snatched up into the garret in an instant with her trophy still in her possession! And how the light did blaze abroad from the master's bald pate—for the sign-painter's boy had gilded it!
Related Characters: Mr. Dobbins, The sign-painters boy
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis: