Swami And Friends And The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer Essay

ABSTRACT The main aim of this paper is to make a comparative study of two famous child heroes Tom Sawyer in the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Swaminathan in the novel Swami and Friends. The main aim of the researcher is to show that there is something universal in the experience of every little school boy by making a comparative study of these two boys. Many great writers have dealt with the theme of childhood. The world of children being a microcosm of the adult world both children and adults are mesmerised by books about childhood. R.K. Narayan and Mark Twain are two great writers who dealt with this theme in their novels Swami and Friends and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Both Narayan and Twain take us to the innocent and boisterous world of children. The two child heroes, Swami and Tom, have difference in their characteristics because they hail from different countries, cultures, and they lived in different times. Swami can be admired as an embodiment of Indian boyhoo d while Tom can be revered as the quintessence of American boyhood. But irrespective of their cultural difference both the boys shows some common characteristics. Their relationship with their friends, aversion towards their school, skirmishes with their teachers, the problems they face due to their interference with the adult world, rivalry with their peers, fear of examination and fun loving nature are not culture specific. Key Words: Childhood, Adventures, Friendship, Universal