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Chapter 26
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Boyhood Rebellion and Growing Up
The Hypocrisy of Adult Society
Superstition, Fantasy, and Escape
Showing Off
Sentimentality and Realism
Summary
Analysis
Tom's dreams ceaselessly about the treasure. The sum of money involved is so enormous that he thinks and hopes to himself that maybe the entire thing was just a dream.
The desire for wealth is so all-consuming for Tom that he basically wishes it had been a dream. He wants to return to being a boy unconcerned with money.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
The next morning, Tom asks if Huck remembers what Tom does about the treasure. Huck does indeed, and is ruminating on how foolish they were to have left their equipment out.
Huck takes a more practical angle about the money, seeing it as a means by which he might live as he wants to—with an adult's independence.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
Tom suggests they still have a chance to claim the treasure if they figure out where Number Two is. He thinks the name may stand for the number of a guest room in a local tavern. He goes to check, not bringing Huck because he doesn't want to be seen with him in public. At a seedier tavern the owner's son says that room No. 2 is always locked, though sometimes it's visited at night. Last night its light was on.
While Tom previously bragged in school about hanging out with Huck to show off as a rebel, as he begins to embrace the social norms of his town he forsakes this friendship. Becoming an adult also means leaving behind the culture, and wisdom, of boyhood.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
Tom and Huck decide to gather as many keys as they can find to try opening No. 2. Tom orders Huck to follow the Spaniard around if he sees him. Huck is fearful, but Tom reminds him the treasure is incentive.
In their adult hierarchy, Tom is Huck's boss, using his cleverness to plan what they'll do, while Huck performs the basic tasks that Tom charges him with. He manipulates Huck like a boss promising his worker pay. Huck defers to Tom largely because he lacks education, a class issue important to adults.
Themes
Quiz
Test Yourself
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