Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn are characters from the works of American writer Samuel Clemens, who created under the pseudonym Mark Twain.
Where did they come from
Twain told about the origin of his heroes in the preface to the book "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." According to him, the prototype of Huckleberry Finn was a real boy, his childhood friend - Thomas Blankenship, and Tom Sawyer combines the features of three of his peers from the past.
The most famous and beloved works telling about the adventures of a couple of incorrigible tomboys were the novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and the novel “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” that appeared after it. The latter is considered the writer’s greatest contribution to American fiction.
Literary challenge
The phenomenon of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn was shocking and made a revolution in the minds of the "respectable" readership of those times. In the 19th century, books about these heroes were even declared immoral and tried to ban them.
The fact is that earlier the goal of children's writers was to create the image of obedient, God-fearing and diligent children, which should be a good example to follow. A book for children must have taught that obedience is always rewarded. The adventures of Tom Sawyer, an intelligent and fair prankster, and the adventures of Huckleberry Finn, an untidy hangover with a good heart, challenged a conservative view of the problems of literature. But to believe in such heroes was much easier than seriously believing that there are perfectly obedient children in the world.
Rebellious, brave, sincere
Another virtue of the new heroes was that lively, direct characters presented new ideals to the reader. The true virtue can be considered a non-cooling interest in the world, an indomitable desire to help the weak and an indestructible sense of justice. That was the mischievous person from the fictitious provincial town of Missouri - Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.
Such characters began to appear in the books of writers of other countries, not excluding Russia. This is Misha Polyakov and his loyal friends Genka and Slava from A. Rybakov’s short story “Dirk”, Denis Korablev from the stories of V. Dragunsky. These are the heroes of Nosov, Zheleznikov, Sotnik.
Contrary to stereotypes
Tom Sawyer is an orphan who lives in Aunt Polly's house with his cousins. The resourcefulness and self-esteem of this boy can be envied. Tom is bored to follow the rules and obey other people's requirements. Unbridled imagination and a bold sharp mind attract him to adventures, many of which are excitingly dangerous. Huck has a father, a homeless drunkard, so the boy grows up as a street child and sleeps in a barrel. Huckleberry cannot boast of good manners, smokes a pipe, does not attend school. He has unlimited freedom and is therefore infinitely happy.
Of course, the children of the city are forbidden to be friends with Huck, but for Tom Sawyer this law is not written. The children together experience a cascade of adventures in which their glorious independent characters are manifested.
Continuation
The famous works had a continuation: the novel “Tom Sawyer Abroad,” and then “Tom Sawyer - Detective.” But these were projects created in the years when the writer was in dire need of money. The commercial motive was reflected in the quality of books that did not find a hot response and remained forgotten parts of the tetralogy.
Adaptations
It is not surprising that the works of Mark Twain about the friendship of two smart fidgets interested filmmakers. The first attempt to film the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn was made by the Americans. In 1917, the silent film The Adventures of Tom Sawyer appeared, and a year later a sequel titled Huck and Tom was released. In 1930-1931, one after another, American children's comedies based on the famous dilogy were released. Forty years later, overseas filmmakers once again shot Twain's best-selling musicals.
In 1980, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn introduced the Japanese director Hiroshi Saito in the anime genre. In 1993, in Hollywood, they made a comedy about the journey of Huck in the company of Negro Jimmy, Tom appears in the film only in the first two-second frames. In 2000, the film company Metro Goldwin Mayer created a full-length cartoon based on Twain’s novel, in which Tom acts as a cat and Huck as a fox.
Tom and Huck in the Russian interpretation
The Soviet version appeared on domestic blue screens in 1981. It was a three-part television film “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn”, shot by recognized master of the adventure genre Stanislav Govorukhin. The tape was made at the Odessa film studio, picturesque landscapes were found in the Kherson region and the Caucasus. The Dnieper "starred" in the role of the Mississippi River.
The film reflects all the main storylines of the book "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer." The starring audience saw the future stars of the Russian film industry - Fedor Stukov, who was only 9 years old, and 10-year-old Vladislav Galkin (Sukhachev), for whom this picture was debut.