The Characters of Tom Sawyer

Tom Sawyer is a mischievous teenage boy that loves to cause trouble. Tom doesn't have the patience for things that don't interest him, but can be successful in things that do. For example, when Tom has to memorize parts of the bible he doesn't do well but he can memorize parts from Robin Hood perfectly when he plays outside with his friends. Tome is a trouble maker but not a bad kid. Although Tom is sneaky and doesn't always do his work, he doesn't do anything extremely horrible. Tom is also very clever. He convinces other kids to do his work for him and even convinces them to give him things before they do his work. Tom shows that he is a trouble maker but not a horrible kid when him and Huckleberry Finn are in the graveyard and the dog howls signaling death. Tom and Huck both wish that they would have been better and payed more attention in church like Sid and Mary.

Huckleberry Finn is similar to Tom Sawyer. Huck like Tom, causes trouble all the time. Huckleberry does whatever he wants whenever he wants because he thinks that he's really cool and should be able to do whatever he pleases. Huck doesn't have any patience for sitting in school just like Tom. He would rather be outside swimming or playing. Huck enjoys trading things with other kids to get new things. Huckleberry believes in many different superstitious things such as a howling dog signalling death or a dead cat getting rid of warts. This shows that Huck isn't the smartest kid. When Huck is in the graveyard with Tom, and the dog howls, he also wishes that he would have been better and payed more attention at church. This shows that he also isn't a horrible kid.

Aunt Polly is a kind person that cares about others. You can tell how nice she is when Tom does horrible things and she get's angry with him and punishes him like any parental figure would do, but she always feels bad for him because he is missing his parents. Aunt Polly is very caring for all of the children she takes care of, and was very kind to take care of Tom and his brother Sid when their parents died.

Sid is a good kid that is smart and always does his work. Sid works hard in Sunday School and doesn't complain about it like Tom. Sid has gone through the loss of his parents, but still get's through with a good attitude. Sid is also like any other little brother. He tells on Tom when he does something bad, and also get's on Tom's nerves. Over all, Sid is a good kid.

Becky Thatcher is an average church girl that does her work and stays out of trouble. Becky also has a little bit of a wild side that she shows when she kisses Tom. Becky is flirtatious and fun which makes Tom like her even more. She is similar to most religious girls in books.

The Time Machine

Jason Robert was the star football player at his high school in Oregon. He was one of the most popular kids at school, and was known to throw the best parties. He had bluish green eyes that were partially hidden by his sandy blonde hair that was curly and flipped out at his ears. Jason had three younger siblings, but he didn't get along with them very well. He mainly was concerned with his life at school and all of his friends. His parents became concerned that he wasn't a very "active participant" in their family, and wanted him more involved. But it wasn't until Jason was forced to spend time with his brothers and sister that he started to appreciate them.
The final bell at Longview High School rang loudly, signaling the end to Jason's math class. Jason rushed to his locker so he could get ready for football practice, after all the captain was expected to be out on the field before the other players. As he was jamming his binder in his backpack, his little brother hurried up to him and started telling him a bunch of stuff that he didn't really even listen to.
"I invented a time machine," Jason's sixteen-year-old brother exclaimed.
"What are you talking about Alex? And I thought I told you not to talk to me at school."
"I actually made a time machine at home in the bonus room and it works!!"
"Alex, I'm going to be late. Go talk to your nerdy friends about your latest invention," Jason started walking down the hall to the boys' locker room.
Alex didn't seem to let his brother's lack of excitement bring him down, after all he was used to it. Alex was a really smart kid and was completely opposite of his older brother. He was constantly inventing things which usually ended up catching on fire or shocking someone. He had dark brown hair that he kept cropped short right above his ears, which made them stick out. Round-rimmed glasses balanced on the top of his nose and framed his small brown eyes.
When Jason got home from football practice, dinner was already waiting at the table. A huge plate with a steak and a heaping pile of mashed potatoes was waiting for him where he usually sat. He was forced to eat dinner with his family, even though he would much rather eat in front of the TV. After he finished dinner, Jason went upstairs to the bonus room to relax in front of the television. As he dropped onto the gray couch he noticed something hidden under an old white sheet which was next to him on the floor. Jason guessed that this must be the "time machine" his brother had mentioned earlier. His thoughts were confirmed when Alex ran into the room followed by his other siblings and hurried to uncover what looked like a big metal box with a few buttons glued onto it.
"Wow," Kate yelled, her big blue eyes wide with curiosity.
Kate was Alex's ten-year-old sister. She was tall for her age and had blonde curls that fell wildly at her shoulders.
"Can we use it now?" Tony pleaded. Tony had eyes that matched Jason's but his hair was the same color as Alex's.
"Alright, we an use it but we have to be really careful. Just one press of the wrong button could get us stuck in the past or future."
By now, Jason had enough of the nonsense and noise that was interrupting his show.
"You don't really think that thing is going to transport you to a different time, do you?"
"Yes it will, just wait," Alex focused on the buttons on the machine.
"Fine. If this thing works than it will take us somewhere when I press this button, right?" Jason pointed to a green button labeled "go" with a black sharpie.
"Yup, but you have to put in a time first."
"Alright, let's go visit the dinosaurs then," Jason said sarcastically.
"Okay," Alex replied nervously because he didn't like the idea of going to a time zone where dinosaurs still roamed the earth. He pressed a few buttons on the machine while the others waited. Jason wasn't concerned about breaking the machine so he pressed the button without waiting for Alex to be ready. He grinned wide when nothing happened, then returned to the couch. Suddenly, the room began to spin and Jason grabbed the arm of the couch.
"What's happening?" Tony was on the ground clutching the table.
"You'll see in a second," Alex replied.
Finally, the spinning stopped and Jason found himself on orange sand under the blazing sun.
"How did you do that?" Jason was dumbfounded.
Alex was too busy exploring to answer.
All of the sudden the exploring was interrupted when Tony yelled.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"What?" Jason turned his head to see Tony running away then turned it the other direction to see what he was running from. He saw a shaking in the jungle in front of him and quickly saw that it was a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex plunging through the trees towards them. Everyone began to sprint, following Tony. They hid deep in the jungle behind a bunch of rocks and huge plants. They hid for what seemed like hours even though it was only about forty-five minutes. When they felt like it was safe to come out, they quietly emerged from their hiding places.
"Whose got the machine?" Alex tripped over a log as he stepped out from behind a huge palm tree.
"Uh oh," Kate whispered.
"No one grabbed it?" Alex yelled at his siblings.
No one replied. Jason broke a minute of silence when he suggested that they run back to where they had left it.
The only problem was that there was a lot of arguing about how to get back.
"We left the time machine next to that patch of wild flowers in the sand," Kate remembered quickly.
"Yeah, but the question is how to get back," Alex said.
"We came from that way." Tony pointed to the East. "I remember walking past those boulders."
"Yeah, me too," Jason replied.
"No, we came from that way," Kate pointed to the North.
After some arguing between Tony and Kate about which way they came, they started walking to the East since Tony and Jason overruled Kate. They argued while they walked about one of them going to slow or one of them not being able to keep up with the others. They walked for what seemed like ages to Jason, who had planned to rest on the couch all evening. They finally came across the familiar patch of wild flowers that they had left the time machine near when the dinosaur surprised them. To everyone's horror, the invention was crushed. Pieces of metal surrounded the flower patch. Tony was the first to break the shocked silence that came when everyone noticed the broken machine.
"Well geniuses, this is what happens when none of you think to pick up the machine before running away."
"Are you kidding me? Why didn't you pick it up? I didn't grab it because the only thing I was thinking is how to get away from the twenty foot dinosaur chasing me." Jason yelled back.
"Wait," Alex said. "I think I can get us back but we would need to put together as much of the machine as we can."
"It's in a million pieces." Kate said. "It's impossible."
"Just the main part of it. If we do that, then the only thing I will need is a small piece of diamond."
"DIAMOND? You're joking, right? How are you planning to find a diamond?"
"They are actually very common here." Alex replied, still calm despite his brother's harsh remark.
Everyone fell silent then, until Jason finally spoke.
"Alright, then let's go start looking for diamond since this will probably take forever."
Groans came from the two youngest kids whose legs felt like they were on fire from walking several miles.
"C'mon, we are tired too," Jason responded to their complaints.
They walked for hours before they finally caught something glistening in the sunlight. There were hundreds of them. Tiny little diamonds covered a rock hidden well behind thousands of plants and rocks.
"Wow," Alex exclaimed, his mouth dropped wide open.
"How do we get those off?" Tony asked breathless from the long walk.
"Well, we may just have to break them into pieces to get a tiny piece off." Alex replied, pleased with his find.
The boys threw rocks at the diamonds hoping desperately that they would break one while Kate sat on a rock nearby and laughed, as her brothers got more and more frustrated with no progress. Finally, Alex got a new idea.
"The only thing we have available here strong enough to break one of these diamonds would be the force of a Tyrannosaurus Rex's skull hitting the diamonds at a very high speed." Alex sighed.
"If we make a loud noise, then maybe we could get the dinosaur to come back." Tony's face lit up.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Jason replied.
"Are you crazy?" Kate finally moved from her seat on the rock. "You're going to try to get that thing that almost just killed us to come near you?"
"If it's the only way home." Jason replied calmly shrugging his shoulders.
Suddenly, Alex began to scream trying to call the dinosaur. Nothing. They all sat down on the ground while Kate sighed with relief. But then something happened. They began to hear a very quiet booming in the distance.
"What's that?" Kate said after a few minutes of silence. Her hand shaking and pointing at the jungle in front of them.
"What are you...." Jason got cut off when he too noticed the trees shaking like crazy in front of them. Whatever was making the forest shake was coming closer and closer. They had to think fast.
"The three youngest kids hid a short distance from the sparkly rock while Jason bravely stood his ground only three feet in front of it. They could see it's head then, it was huge and was a strange orange color. The dinosaur caught a glimpse of Jason through the trees and rushed towards him at a high speed. Jason took a step back and focused on his timing. Timing was everything in this case. He waited until the dinosaur was only a few strides from chomping distance and then lunged into the bushes beside him. The dinosaur was going too fast to stop. He crashed loudly into the rock shattering the diamonds into thousands of pieces. The force of the crash sent the monster stumbling backwards and running back to wherever he came from.
Everyone was ecstatic, and incredibly happy that Jason was still alive and that they could finally go home. Alex picked up a few diamonds. Everyone looked at him. "What?" He said. "It won't hurt to bring a few of these home!"
The other kids pocketed a few gems as well. They all walked slowly now to where they left the remains of the time machine. Alex bent down and pieced together a few wires and cables. After he seemed to be finished, he set a small piece of diamond in a tiny crease of a metal piece that connected the wires.
"That should be it." Alex sighed.
Everyone stepped towards the new time machine. Alex pressed a few buttons as everyone crossed their fingers. Suddenly, the jungle was gone. The blazing sun was replaced with the wooden sealing fan in the bonus room upstairs.
Jason sat down on the couch. "Wow," was all he could think of saying.
"My time machine works!" Alex was thrilled. "Well, what's left of it," he added as he looked down at the small bundle of cables and metal that was sitting lopsided on the carpet in front of him.
"Hey, do you still have those diamonds?" Kate broke the silence with her curious voice.
Alex checked his pockets anxiously while Kate held her breath, but a disappointed look came across his face.
"They must have fallen out of my pocket when I was kneeling on the ground." Alex sighed. "Should we try to go back?"
"NO!" The three other kids shouted in unison. By this time, it was ten o'clock at night and all of them were extremely tired. After agreeing to stay in their current time zone for a while, the kids all fell asleep on the floor in the bonus room.

Should parents be allowed to request that their child not be required to read parts of a history book in school that they find objectionable?

Yes, parents should have every right to request their children not read anything in school that they find shouldn't be allowed. They may have different religious beliefs, or just might not want their child exposed to certain language or topics. For instance, it would be wrong if a Jewish child was forced to read a Christian story in class without their parent's say in the matter. Same goes for a child who's parents don't believe that they should read about violence, racist, or sexual references. Parents have raised their children in a certain way, and may not want them to learn about things that go against what they have taught them.
Though children should have a right to chose in what they believe in, they will have the opportunity to completely make their own choices when they are an adult. Parents as legal guardians of their children, should have the right to chose what they take part in while they are in school.