Tom Sawyer is another example in our reading where there is a child, who is not raised by his biological parents. Raised by Aunt Polly, Tom does not seem to have the manners and values instilled in him that were normal for a boy during this time. His Aunt Polly did not “have the heart to lash him,” but he was able to walk over her and get away with most of his mischief (315).
Although Aunt Polly’s parenting strategies are probably not the best, it is important to look closer at the foundation for parenting within 19th century literature. It has been said that parents make the child and if you do not discipline the child, the child will not be good. In the 19th century literature that we have read so far strangers or relatives have raised many of these children. It is said that Tom “was not the Model boy of the village,” but does a child need a biological parent to be raised “properly” (318).
Aunt Polly has a duty to her sister to raise Tom, but it seems as if she thinks her sister is watching her and would be disappointed if she were punishing Tom too much. Instead of constant harsh punishments Aunt Polly relies on her faith to change Tom. “Aunt Polly had a family worship” and continually talks about her faith throughout the story and her reliance upon God (341). It almost seemed as if Twain uses religion as a satirical device to show how some people get so wrapped up in religion and the church instead of their own beliefs and values.
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I love that you talked about Aunt Polly in your post because I feel like she is a character constantly overlooked. She definitely uses her faith to discipline Tom, which I think is important because she is a good role model for women at that time (she is basically a grown up version of Ellen Montgomery), but I also think she enjoys Tom's antics and his charm that helps him slide by through life.
ReplyDeleteAunt Polly sort of reminds me of a grandparent figure. In our family, my grandparents would let us (my brother and cousins) get away with so much more that our parents would because they loved us. Sometimes of course they did have to punish us, like making us do a chore (like Tom whitewashing the fence) but usually would never give us "a lashing." Great response to the prompt!
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