The Two Classic Coming of Age Adventures of Two little Heroes: Tom Sawyer vs. Oliver Twist

 

While learning to read Classics, in my childhood, I came upon these two lovely books that are probably one of the earliest examples of “coming-of-age” stories – The Adventures of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens (English Author) & The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (American Author).

What struck me particularly was the similarity in the INTENT of writing these books by their respective authors, yet glaring difference in CONTENT as well.

Both Oliver Twist & Tom Sawyer are iconic characters from the pages of World Literature. Like I said, their authors gave them same INTENT;

·        Both boys are almost the same age, one or two years here & there, when the stories pick up. Oliver is a boy of 9, & though Tom’s age is not specified, it is surmised that he could have been 11 or so.

 

·        Both boys are orphans. Of course in completely different circumstances. An orphaned Oliver lives in a poor orphanage from his infancy & is shunned to a miserable warehouse as a child labourer thereafter. Whereas, Tom lives in the American countryside (fictional town of St. Petersburg modelled on Missouri) with his Aunt Polly, a good hearted, kind woman who is often torn between reprimanding him for his mischief & her love for him.

·        Both novels allude to a similar time period with some years passing between them. Oliver Twist was published in 1838 & refers to that age itself. Tom Sawyer was published in 1876, but refers to an era before the Civil War, which can roughly be between1850-1860 AD. Hence the social fabric of the two books remains somewhat similar.

However, here comes the big difference in CONTENT.

You might be thinking why I am comparing two starkly opposite books like these. It’s not the books that I am comparing over here; it’s these two central characters. Conceptualised at a similar time period & the icons that they became, these characters hold a mirror to their respective societies. True, the genre here is different, but like I pointed above, the basic INTENT was not that different. It is fantastical to study these two boys & their social fabric & how it diverges further as their respective stories progress.

I, for one think, that the reason their respective stories shape up Oliver & Tom is a factor of their authors & their surroundings too. British Society & American Society was dealing with different issues that could have influenced these two great works majorly.

·        Oliver Twist is a dark, grim tale of penury in England in that era. The whole book is thus dark, grim, layered with poverty & cleverly explores the dark crime underbelly of London slums. An orphan’s life, when you read Oliver Twist, seems so harsh & dark that you almost see no light at the end of the tunnel, at least in the beginning. Tom Sawyer, on the other hand, is all about open fields, sunshine countryside and laughter amidst a state of humble surroundings. England at that time was dealing with an extreme class conscious society, where hierarchy was the order of the day since many years. This hierarchal living had thus created an oppressive regime of the rich & high class, who thought it was their primary right to look down upon those born in lower castes & orphans & criminals were often put in the same category, as were the poor. America, was also dealing its class system, what with slavery being a norm in those days, when the book is set. Yet American society was far less judgemental, since the earliest Americans were essentially migrants & had come to America with the HOPE of creating a new & better world. This hope is reflective in Tom Sawyer too, which gives the book its lighter treatment. Also, when the book was actually published, i.e, 1876, America had already seen Civil War & whatever class system was prevalent was on its way of abolishment. Hence the social mood in general was upbeat & full of hope. 

·        Now, if we compare the two characters, it is a wonder how their paths almost meet & yet do not (as far as their personality sketch is concerned). Oliver is born & brought up amongst criminals, low class warehouse workers; all around him the atmosphere is grim & negative. Even when he escapes to London, he falls in the hands of the criminals of London, who propel him to pickpocket & rob. Despite that he maintains a righteous soul within him all through. In fact it is almost unrealistic to see that he is almost a saint despite his surroundings. Tom on the other hand is surrounded by love, compassion & care (despite being orphan), but all he can think of is mischief. True, his mischievous streak is but noble at heart, yet he is careless about his elders’ advice & loves playing pranks & creating mischief. In a way it is paradoxical, Oliver has no love in his life, still all he wants is to escape this life & live in a normal home, with normal set of benefactors & lead a righteous life. Tom has all these things, yet all he wants is to break free of his normal life, embark on an adventure & become a renowned robber!! 

·        Yes, a robber!! Again it is but a delicious paradox between the two boys. Oliver is in the gang of hardened criminals of the London slums, yet all he wants is to stay away from this life. In fact he implores to his group’s leader Fagin to let him “go away & die in a field” but do this. When Oliver is propelled to commit robbery in a house, he prefers waking up the inmates & warning them of danger & in process gets grievously hurt. Tom on the other hand, wants anything but is vanilla life. He wants to escape with his best friend Huck Finn & aims to be World’s best robber. Of course, his intentions are noble as he is inspired by tales of Robin Hood. Tom’s understanding of robbery & life of an outlaw is full of adventure & heroism, which is something Oliver is actually living & he knows it is not so.

Both boys essentially have great hearts, both fall in the hands of criminals, both deal with it in their own way – one with simplicity of his heart, the other with his craftiness & clever. One is driving away attention from him & the other is but attention-seeking.

Similarities or differences apart, both books are great coming-of-age tales from two great authors. To not read them, is missing SOMETHING in life. Read both, & make your comparisons or not. Both characters are extremely lovable in their own lives & you feel for both of them!! In short the world of “coming-of-age” tales would not be same, if it was not for these two books.