The Adventures of Tom Sawyer revolves around the youthful adventures of the novel's schoolboy protagonist, Thomas Sawyer, whose reputation precedes him for causing trouble and conflict. Tom lives with his aunt Polly, stepbrother Sid, and cousin Mary in the picturesque town of St. Petersburg, just off the shore of the Mississippi River. St. Petersburg is described as having a typical small-town atmosphere where the Christian faith is predominant, the social network is dense and familiarity resides. Unlike his brother Sid, Tom receives "licks" from his Aunt Polly; Always a mischievous man, he prefers to act out rather than attend school and often sneaks out of his bedroom window at night to adventure with his friend, Huckleberry Finn, the town's social outcast. Tom, despite his terror of school, is extremely intelligent and would normally get away with his pranks if Sid wasn't such a "talker". As punishment for skipping school to go swimming, Aunt Polly assigns Tom to paint the fence. surrounding the house. With a brilliant scheme, Tom manages to convince the neighborhood kids to complete the job for him, managing to convince them of the joys of painting. At school, Tom is equally flamboyant and attracts attention by chasing other kids, yelling, and running around. With his usual antics, Tom tries to attract the attention of one girl in particular: Becky Thatcher, the judge's daughter. When he sees her for the first time, Tom immediately falls in love with Becky. After winning her over, Tom suggests they "get engaged". But when Tom accidentally says he was previously engaged to Amy Lawrence, he ruins his relationship with Becky and is heartbroken. One night, Huck and Tom sneak off at midnight to the town cemetery, where they are planning to perform a special ritual. used to treat warts. Believers in superstition and folklore, the two expect the cemetery to be full of ghosts. After hearing voices approaching them, the two boys hide in fear; the voices belong to Injun Joe, the evil savage, Muff Potter, the town drunk, and Doctor Robinson. The three men are robbing graves! A fight soon breaks out between Dr. Robinson and the other two men. As Dr. Robinson grabs a headboard and knocks the drunken Muff Potter unconscious, Injun Joe grabs Muff's knife and stabs the doctor to death. The boys escape the cemetery before discovering that Injun Joe is planning to frame Muff for the doctor's murder..