Abstract: 

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, masterpiece of Mark Twain, portrays an image of the American new generation, Tom Sawyer. The thesis, by analyzing what he does in his interesting childhood, aims to interpret the American spirit that Tom reflects. Tom’s challenge to the hypocritical and vulgar social customs is a good example of the American spirit of pursuing equality. His escape from rigid school education and strict family control tells that what the American new generation desire is freedom. The little boy’s escape from home to an isolated island shows his love of adventure. The strong adaptability of Americans is reflected by his gain of the Bible and Ben’s help with the fence brushing. It is no doubt that the charm of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is not the story itself, but the American spirit reflected on Tom Sawyer.
 
Keywords: Mark Twain;  Tom Sawyer;  American spirit;

摘要：

马克•吐温的代表作《汤姆•索亚历险记》描绘了新一代美国人的形象——汤姆•索亚。本文拟通过分析汤姆•索亚童年生活的趣事来阐释他身上所反映的美国精神。汤姆对虚伪庸俗的社会习俗的挑战表现出他追求平等的精神，他对刻板的学校教育和严格的家庭控制的挑战表现出他追求自由的决心，他离家出走去一个与世隔绝的小岛表现出他对冒险的热爱， 他巧妙获得代表最高荣誉的圣经并利用本来完成刷栅栏的任务表现出他对环境的超强适应性。毫无疑问，《汤姆•索亚历险记》的永恒魅力不在于故事本身，而在于汤姆身上所体现的美国精神。

关键词: 马克•吐温；汤姆•索亚； 美国精神；

1. Introduction
1.1 Introduction to Mark Twain
Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was an American writer, journalist, and humorist. Mark Twain was the founder of American critical realism literature as well as the world-renowned master of short stories. He was born into a country merchant’s family in Florida, Missouri in 1835. At the age of four, he moved to the town of Hannibal by the Mississippi River, where he spent his childhood. After his father’s death, he was forced to drop out of school to make a living. He went out to be an apprentice to a printer and then worked as a journeyman printer in various places. From 1857 to 1861 he became a pilot on the Mississippi River, from which he got the idea of his pen name “Mark Twain”, a term signifying “safe water” or “two fathoms deep”.