《汤姆•索亚历险记》是著名小说家马克•吐温的代表作，发表于1876年。小说主人公汤姆•索亚天真活泼，富于幻想和冒险，不堪忍受束缚个性、枯燥乏味的生活，幻想干一番英雄事业。小说通过主人公的冒险经历，对美国虚伪庸俗的社会习俗、伪善的宗教仪式和刻板陈腐的学校教育进行了讽刺和批判，以欢快的笔调描写了少年儿童自由活泼的心灵。《汤姆•索亚历险记》以其浓厚的深具地方特色的幽默和对人物敏锐观察，一跃成为*伟大的文学作品，也是一首美国“黄金时代”的田园牧歌。
在这部作品中，儿童的灵动活泼和周围现实生活的陈腐刻板形成了鲜明的对照。故事向人们展示了一些社会弊病和黑暗现实，揭示了的虚伪性，无情地嘲讽了庸俗的小市民习气。作品问世以来，一直受到读者的喜爱，成为一部。

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a youngboy growing up along the Mississippi River. The story is set in the fictionaltown of St. Petersburg, inspired by Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain lived. TomSawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid. Tom dirties hisclothes in a fight and is made to whitewash the fence the next day aspunishment. He cleverly persuades his friends to trade him small treasures forthe privilege of doing his work. He then trades the treasures for Sunday Schooltickets which one normally receives for memorizing verses, redeeming them for aBible, much to the surprise and bewilderment of the superintendent who thought“it was simply preposterous that this boy had warehoused two thousand sheavesof Scriptural wisdom on his premises—a dozen would strain his capacity, withouta doubt.”
Tom falls in love with Becky Thatcher, a new girl in town, and persuadesher to get “engaged” by kissing him. But their romance collapses when shelearns Tom has been “engaged” previously to Amy Lawrence. Shortly after Beckyshuns him, he accompanies Huckleberry Finn to the graveyard at night, wherethey witness the murder of Dr. Robinson.

Most of the adventuresrecorded in this book really occurred; one or two were experiences of my own,the rest those of boys who were schoolmates of mine. Huck Finn is drawn fromlife; Tom Sawyer also, but not from an individual—he is a combination of thecharacteristics of three boys whom I knew, and therefore belongs to thecomposite order of architecture.
The odd superstitionstouched upon were all prevalent among children and slaves in the West at theperiod of this story—that is to say, thirtyor forty years ago.
Although my book isintended mainly for the entertainment of boys and girls, I hope it will not beshunned by men and women on that account, for part of my plan has been to tryto pleasantly remind adults of what they once were themselves, and of how theyfelt and thought and talked, and what queer enterprises they sometimes engagedin.
THE AUTHOR
HARTFORD, 1876.