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Situational Irony
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is narrated in the omniscient third person, with Twain stating directly that he himself is the narrator (which is not true of all omniscient third person narrators). There are several moments when Twain makes his presence as a narrator known. One such moment happens in Chapter 2, in the aftermath of Tom successfully manipulating his friends into whitewashing Aunt Polly’s fence for him:
Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.
Related Themes:
Chapter 31
Explanation and Analysis:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is narrated in the omniscient third person, with Twain stating directly that he himself is the narrator (which is not true of all omniscient third person narrators). There are several moments when Twain makes his presence as a narrator known. One such moment happens in Chapter 2, in the aftermath of Tom successfully manipulating his friends into whitewashing Aunt Polly’s fence for him:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.
Related Themes:
