1088 Twain, Mark
JuStIce in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Justice has several meanings in Tom Sawyer, but its
most common reference is to the investigation of
truth and the legal ways used to protect people’s
rights and punish crimes. From this perspective, The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a book about how law
was observed and justice performed in a small com-
munity of American people in the late 19th century.
St. Petersburg is a Mississippi River town in
Missouri with strict moral and social rules. The
importance people attached to justice is made obvi-
ous by the position the judge occupies in the com-
munity. When the local lawyer Thatcher brings his
brother, Judge Thatcher, to church, it is an important
event. The judge is treated with the utmost respect
and veneration, and the whole gathering shows off
to attract his eye. Ironically, Tom’s first encounter
with a key figure in justice is ruined by his little
scheme of getting a Bible prize by fraud. However,
he saves his reputation with the judge when he and
Becky, Judge Thatcher’s daughter, save themselves
after getting lost in the cave and, most important,
find the treasure Injun Joe has hidden there. The
judge is so impressed by his courage, intelligence,
and nobility of heart that he foresees a great career
for Tom in the domain of law or in the army, both
revered professions at the time.
While the judge might see this future for Tom,
it is difficult to tell right from wrong in the boys’
games, and their idea of justice is rather foggy. Tom
has no remorse in cheating the others, as in the
famous scene of the fence whitewashing or when he
lies his way out of several embarrassing situations.
Moreover, the boys are attracted to games miming
illegal activities, such as being pirates or thieves.
But when Tom and Huck come to confront a
serious issue of justice involving the law and right-
fulness, things change. After witnessing how Dr.
Robinson was stabbed by Injun Joe and the latter’s
false statement that Muff Potter was the murderer,
they are afraid to interfere and expect “Divine Jus-
tice” to strike the perjurer dead. But “Divine Justice”
is slow in doing its job, although as the minister
remarks, the doctor was rightly punished by the
Lord’s hand for his attempted grave robbery.
Little by little, attacks of conscience change
Tom’s behavior. He has frequent nightmares and
speaks in his sleep, but he also visits Potter in his
jail regularly and brings comfort to him. When the
trial opens, the whole community crowd in the small
courtroom. The procedures are similar to the ones in
modern times. The prosecutor’s argument relies on
the depositions of several witnesses who saw Potter
wash in a brook the morning of the murder and
who testified finding a knife by the corpse, a knife
later proven to belong to Potter. But all the deposi-
tions are wiped out when the only person who saw
the murder happen is brought by the defense as an
eyewitness. Tom Sawyer appears as a tool of human
justice who corrects the errors of divine justice.
This divine retribution is presumed to be at work
when Injun Joe is locked in the cave that is outside
the community and left, unwillingly, to die there. If
human justice failed to punish the wrongdoer, divine
justice finally mended human failing.
Tom’s sense of justice is stronger than his fear he
might fall victim to Injun Joe’s revenge. His entering
the realm of justice is dictated by several motives:
his genuine sympathy for Potter, his wish to be in
the limelight but also his natural bent to do justice,
and to punish the real wrongdoer because this is the
natural “fair” course of action. He feels he cannot
live outside a code of justice, a set of rules that he
unconsciously embraces when he chooses to play
Robin Hood.
Justice in 19th-century America was a principle
working both in society and inside individuals. The
sense of doing justice developed quite early in people
and sometimes transformed them into real heroes.
Moreover, divine and human justice were regarded
as complementary, acting by turns to implement law.
Aloisia SoropTwaiN, mark A Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthur’s Court (1889)
In Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King
Arthur’s Court, a 19th-century American named
Hank Morgan is transported back to sixth-century
England after receiving a blow to the head. Hank
achieves renown as a magician through a series
of “enchantments” he effects through his techni-
cal savvy, which cement his position of power and
influence as King Arthur’s second in command.