The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Literary Devices

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Literary Devices

By Cassie Metzinger, Heater Roe, and Spencer Buranen

SUSPENSE• A feeling of curiosity, or even dread about

what is going to happen next in a story• When Huck follows Injun Joe and the

mystery man to the old Widow’s house, and a twig breaks beneath his foot

• When a person falls of a bike in the middle of the road, and a car is coming toward them

Irony• A contrast or discrepancy between

appearance and reality, or between what is expected and what actually happens

• How those thought Injun Joe was to die, and how he actually did

• In a movie or book, when two men/groups set out to kill each other, and one dies in a car crash

Satire• Writing that uses humor or wit to ridicule the

vices or follies of people or societies, often to bring about change or improvement

• Mark Twain is know for writing his novels in satire

• Comics that appose of what the government is implying for the people to do

• The assinment of human characteristics to gods, animals, or inanimate objects

• Demon dog, when Huck and Tom are running from the graveyard, and the howling dog is to bring them bad luck, just as a demon would

• The tree swayed and danced in the wind

Anthropomorphism

Colloquialism

• Informal language used in everyday conversation, but not in formal righting

• Some of the younger boys cut off syllables when speaking

• Using “hey” or “what’s up” when speaking

Folklore

• The traditional beliefs, customs, stories, songs, and dances of a culture

• The wart remedies the young boys claim to be true

• Technical gossip of the modern day

Motivation

• The stated or implied reason a character acts, thinks, or feels a certain way

• Tom’s and Huck’s motivation to go to the graveyard was there curiosity

• What motivates important speakers or poets to write or speak aloud

Idiom

• When a statements literal meaning is not as the speaker in implying

• “Hang her!” when Tom exclaimed to say ‘quiet her fit’

• You crack me up!

Understatement

• Language that makes it seem less important than it really is

• When Tom happens to run into Injun Joe in the cave, we never suspected that Injun Joe was to be trapped inside to die

• “We may have a test soon,” and the test turns out to be the very next day

Metaphor

• Comparing two unlike things without using like or as

• Unsure• He is a walking encyclopedia!

Plot Twist

• When what one expects to happen in the end takes a turn and doesn’t happen

• How Injun Joe dies• When two men in a movie/book set out to kill

one another, and one dies in a tragic accident

Simile

• A comparison between two unlike things using like or as

• When Huck follows Injun Joe to the old widow’s, is states that his footsteps were catlike

• “Wow, he is like a walking library!”

Credits• http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-adventures-of-huckleberry-finn-sterling-

unabridged-classics-series-mark-twain/11070008400• http://digital-genie.com/designjots.htmm• http://www.123rf.com/photo_10769756_drawing-question-marks-group-on-old-grungy-

blackboard.html• http://divinesecretsofthewritingsisterhood.blogspot.com/2011/04/ten-tips-for-building-susp

ense-in-novel.html• sweetdekor.food.officelive.com• utahmediadirectory.com• layoutsparks.com• http://nicosnas.deviantart.com/art/Tainted-Fire-Purple-50279893• wallpaperhd.org• http://www.htcwalls.com/colorful-wallpapers-for-htc-set-3-android-os/d/