A consummate prankster with a quick wit, Tom Sawyer dreams of a bigger fate than simply being a "rich boy." Yet through the novel's humorous escapades--from the famous episode of the whitewashed fence to the trial of Injun Joe--Mark Twain explores the deeper themes of the adult world, one of dishonesty and superstition, revenge and justice. Mark Twain (1835–1910) was born Samuel Clemens and is considered one of the greatest writers in American literature. His childhood in Hannibal, Missouri, inspired his two best-known novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.