Making mischief in a small town on the Mississippi
Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his half brother, Sid, in the Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri. Sid is a very good boy, but Tom would rather play and make mischief than go to school. One Friday, Tom plays hooky from school and gets his clothes dirty in a fight. Tom has to paint the fence as punishment. But Tom is tricky. He soon convinces his friends to trade him their treasures for the privilege of painting the fence for him!
There is a new girl in town. Her name is Becky Thatcher. Tom persuades her to get "engaged" to him. But when she finds out Tom has been "engaged" before, she breaks up with him. After this heartbreak, Tom and his friend Huckleberry Finn visit the graveyard at night. There they witness the murder of Dr. Robinson by Injun Joe, a mean man who is part Native American. Joe blames his drunken friend Muff Potter for the crime, so Muff is arrested and put in jail. Tom is scared of Injun Joe, so he doesn't say what he knows. But he feels very guilty.
Language Lab
mischief n. [mischievous]
/ˈmɪstʃəf/
behavior or activity that is annoying but that is not meant to cause serious harm or damage
- Ryan gets into mischief when he's bored.
- Peter's eyes twinkled with boyish mischief when he did behind his wife trying to scare her.
- Those children are always up to some mischief. = Those children are always getting into mischief.
harmful behavior
- The flood caused serious mischief in the area.
privilege n.
/ˈprɪvlɪʤ/
a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others
- Our VIP customers enjoy the privileges of extra discounts and special promotions.
- Frank is a son of privilege and wealth, so he never has to worry about money.
a special opportunity to do something that makes you proud
- It's such a privilege to be the student of such a prestigious professor!
witness v.
to see (something) happen
- A woman who witnessed the robbery called 911.
- George witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall when he was traveling in Germany.
to be the time or place when (something) happens
- The signing of the contract was witnessed by the lawyers of both parties.
law : to be present at (an event) in order to be able to say that it happened : to act as a legal witness of (something)
- The witnesses of the crime were students of a nearby college.
guilty adj.
showing that you know you have done something bad or wrong
- Gloria feels guilty about lying to her parents.
responsible for committing a crime or doing something bad or wrong
— often + of
- The jury found the defendant guilty of fraud.
guilt n.
responsibility for a crime or for doing something bad or wrong
- The girl is full of strong feelings of guilt because she changed her grades.
Info Cloud
Topic: indigenous people
Hello and welcome to info cloud. I recently attended a leadership conference. Joe, have you ever heard of the phrase, “your vibe attracts your tribe”?
Hum, I have, it means that your personality will attract the group of people who were similar to you.
One of my friends mentioned that using the word tribe might be a little bit offensive to aboriginal people.
I’ve heard the same, Rex. Terms related to indigenous peoples can be difficult. Let’s look at some terms commonly used in North America.
In the US, people used to refer to native peoples as Indians or American Indians which came from explorers, believing, they were in the East Indies.
Over time this term has replaced with Native American. But you’ll find people who still use American Indian.
Notice that aboriginal is never used to describe Native Americans. This term is typically limited to native peoples outside of the Americas.
There are also some different terms using Canada. Native peoples in Canada are called indigenous peoples.
This includes 3 different people groups, First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples.
Although the word Indian is not as common, both the US and Canada still use in legal documents related to native people groups.
