Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain -- Reading Checks – Chapter Thirteen and Fourteen
1. Give an example from Chapter 13 of Tom insisting on doing things "the hard way" or "by the book."
Using a countersign
2. Why are the boys' consciences bothering them at the end of chapter 13?
They stole, which is wrong, and they feel bad for doing it and running away.
3. Why does Mark Twain call the boys "curiously inconsistent pirates" (94)? Fill in the blank: because they are pirates who won’t steal. (Hint: It also might be called ironic. Hint II: See your answer to the previous question.)
4. "The other pirates envied him this majestic vice, and secretly resolved to acquire it shortly" (93). Explain. (A vice is a bad habit.)
They are jealous of Huck smoking and want to learn how.
5. What does Tom think (due to his superstition) he will get, since the inchworm crawled across him?
A new suit
6. Where is the boy's raft now?
It was washed away by a current
7. The boom the boys hear is a cannon, and it means the villagers think they’ve drowned, and that makes them feel like heroes.
8. Why are the boys consciences bothering them at the end of Chapter 14?
They want to go home and feel bad for tricking their families.
9. Explain Tom’s feelings in the first paragraph on page 87. Tom’s mind is made up because…
There is no one left that cares about him, so he might as well be a criminal. It won’t upset anyone.