Never out of print since its original publication in 1876 and beloved by both children and adults, Tom Sawyer is one of the most widely-read American novels. Despite its enduring popularity, Tom Sawyer has received surprisingly little scholarly attention, and this volume is the first entirely original collection of critical analyses of the novel ever published. Essays discuss the novel's approach to nature and realism, a comparative analysis of Tom Sawyer and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Tom Sawyer in modern classrooms and as "bad-boy" literature, the novel as autobiography, Mark Twain's depictions of Native Americans, and the role of girls in the novel.