There are many things in the character Tom Sawyer that are didactic. The first lesson that can be learned from Tom is that every action will have consequences. After skipping school and later getting in a fight with another boy, Tom's aunt gives the harsh punishment of whitewashing a fence on a Saturday. "He surveyed the fence, and all gladness left him and a deep melancholy settled down upon his spirit" (12). Another lesson that can be learned from Tom is that playing pranks on others may not always be harmless. When Tom and his friends Huck and Joe run away from the town, the people of the town search for them endlessly. They finally conclude that the boys have died and will have a funeral for them. Tom snuck back and overheard the conversations and decided to turn this into a fun situation. The boys agreed, but did not think of all the stress they were putting on their loved ones. "'Well, I don't say it wasn't a fine joke, Tom, to keep everybody suffering 'most a week so you boys had a good time, but it is a pity you could be so hard-hearted as to let me suffer so'" (154).The last lesson that can be learned from Tom is that keeping secrets can cause others to suffer. Tom and Huck were in the graveyard when they witnessed the murder of a man, but instead of telling the authorities the boys swore to each other to never tell. By keeping what they knew a secret, an innocent man was arrested for the murder of this man.
There are many things in the character Tom Sawyer that are aesthetic. One way that aestheticism can be seen in Tom is that he is the protagonist throughout almost the entire book. The book goes through the many adventures of this mischievous boy Tom Sawyer. In each adventure Tom is the main character and focus. There is only one point during the book were the focus changes to Huck instead of Tom. Another way that aestheticism can be seen in Tom is that he is a dynamic character throughout the book. Although throughout the book Tom is very childish and more concerned about having fun, one can see that towards the end Tom starts to mature and make better decision when faced with the choice. Tom finally realizes that he must testify against Injun Joe to save the innocent man from being convicted of murder. "The strain upon pent emotion reached its climax when the boy said: '-and as the doctor fetched to board around and Muff Potter fell, Injun Joe jumped with the knife'" (197). The third way that aestheticism can be seen in Tom is that he represents several boys that Mark Twain knew in his childhood. The author states in the preface that Tom is a combination of several boys Twain knew while growing up. In this case Tom is basically an extend use of symbolism in the story; he has importance both in the book and outside of the book by representing an actual person.
There are many things in the character Tom Sawyer that show a lack of spirituality. In the beginning of the book Tom is jealous of another boy and eventually ends up getting in a fight with him because of his great dislike for him. "He had a citified air about him that ate into Tom's vitals. The more Tom stared at the splendid marvel, the higher he turned up his nose at his finery" (7). This contradicts what is said in Philippians 4:8 to love. Another negative aspect that showed that Tom was lacking in spiritual growth was when he accepted Huck's offer to smoke. "Now they stretched themselves out on their elbows and began to puff, charily, and with splendor confidence. The smoke had an unpleasant taste, and they gagged a little" (140,141). The last negative aspect that showed Tom was not very spiritual was the lack of concern in memorizing the verses for Sunday school. Tom really did not care about truly learning the verses; instead he waited till the last minute and only cared about the reward that he would get for memorizing them. "Under the double pressure of curiosity and prospective gain, he did it with such spirit that he accomplished a shining success" (30). Tom Sawyer would be a challenging character to use in a Sunday school lesson because of the mischievous behavior and lack of spirituality displayed in his life.
