St. Petersburg Tribune
1847
Missing Boys
Meet The Author
Reporter: Mr. Twain, in your new book, I enjoyed your allusion to Robin Hood when the boys were playing games on the island. Why did you choose that particular allusion?
Mark Twain: I choose the allusion because Tom Sawyer seems like the type of boy that would be interested into a hero that's also a villian, which is who Robin Hood is.
R: While reading your book, I couldn't help but think how realistic this all is, and wondered if this book was based off of real-life experiences. Is it?
MT: Well, most of the stories are based off of what I saw around me as a child like, friends behaviors, adults behaviors and such. But, I do have to say that some of Tom's behavior comes from my own personality.
R: As I was reading your book I was surprised to find Huckleberry Finn as a character. Why did you include Huck as a character in your story?
MT: I thought it would be an interesting way to incorperate one of my hit books into another story so, people who like Huck Finn would also like Tom Sawyer.
R: Thank you for talking with us, Mr. Twain!
MT: The pleasure was all mine.