Tom Sawyer is the main character in Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" which was first published in England in 1876. Based largely on Twain's upbringing in Hannibal, Missouri, many of Tom Sawyer's adventures actually occurred. As the title suggests, the main character is adventurous, curious and mischievous, and the book follows his personal journey from childhood to adulthood.
First introduced in "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," Huck Finn is the central character in Mark Twain's sequel to Tom Sawyer, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Published in 1884, the novel details life in St. Petersburg, Missouri, the same fictionalized town in Twain's previous novel, but from a different point of view. Unlike Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn has led a less carefree and comfortable life.
Though Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are friends and their personal growth is detailed in each novel, the characters are different. Tom Sawyer, having been raised properly raised by his family, is unburdened by heavy emotions and experiences, which leaves him free to spend his days having fun, often at the expense of others. He lacks self-awareness or self-introspection, but as the novel progresses, Sawyer begins to evaluate his role in society. By contrast, Huck Finn has a much more serious personality, in part due to being abandoned by his father and raising himself. Finn, having had to grow up quickly, is more mature than Tom Sawyer and is more respectful of others. Whereas Tom Sawyer is a romantic and naive, Huckleberry Finn is realistic and skeptical. Together, they balance out one another.
Author Mark Twain had elements of both Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in his own personality and experience. Initially raised in a well-to-do family, Samuel Clemens' family fell on tough times after his father, a judge, died from pneumonia, forcing Twain to leave school and to enter the workforce as a printer's apprentice the following year to support the family. During his 20s, Twain worked on a riverboat, an experience which greatly influenced the setting for both "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," as well as other books he wrote.