An Analysis of Inequality as Reflected in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’s Novel

Abstract

This study aims to describe the problem of social inequality that occurs in the American novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and how the main characters in the story solve the problem of inequality. The object of this research is the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer which is analyzed using the theory of structuralism. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative method. Data collection techniques used are novel quotations, the authors use data from written and electronic documents. The data analysis technique used is qualitative data analysis, namely by conducting a direct analysis of the characterization method used by the author in the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The theory used in this study is the theory of structuralism, which is a theory that considers literary works to be an independent and objective text, because they only examine using the structure of the text itself and are not examined based on historical background, author's intentions and the effects of the readers. It was found that Tom Sawyer was a bad boy and always made trouble. He longed for freedom in living his youth and despite the binding rules given by adults during the civil war in the 19th century in America. Tom Sawyer also showed a sense of justice and empathy for adults like Muff Poter who was accused of murder. This shows that Tom does not discriminate against people based on social status and not racism. Tom values people by his attitude and views good equality as something that is worth getting by anyone