When Tom Sawyer Grew Up Trivia Quiz

Answer: He was a postmaster.

Huck describes the effect of this praise on Tom as making him "just swelled ...up fit to bust". Tom's popularity seems to particularly irritate Nat Parsons, who for over thirty years had been considered the town's "traveller". As postmaster, Nat once had to return an undeliverable letter from Missouri to Washington, DC. Huck determines that Nat has the advantage of "Longitude" (East-West travel) but Tom, who has traveled up and down the Mississippi River, has the advantage of "Latitude" (North-South travel).

Nat, for his part, is jealous of Tom's popularity and attempts to counter it by retelling his story, but unfortunately he has already told his story so many times that it no longer holds wonder for the people of Hannibal. Nat's journey involved almost eight weeks of travel to return a single letter. Was this really a good use of his time?

Answer: Balloon

Tom seems to be worried, at least in part, that Nat Parsons will see it if he does not, giving him bragging rights. Tom, accompanied by Jim and Huck, travel to see the "noble big balloon [that] had wings and fans and all sorts of things, and wasn't like any balloon you see in pictures", which was located at a vacant lot on the outskirts of St. Louis. Oddly enough the area where the balloon's pilot was located is described as looking like a ship.

Answer: He discovers that the world is round.

The operator of the balloon takes off while Huck and Jim and Tom are still on board. As they ascend, Huck sees that the world is round. He says that Widow Douglas, the woman who is supposed to watch over him, had told him this, but Huck had dismissed it as a "superstition". He claims, however, that the area near Hannibal is still flat.

The "Professor", or operator of the balloon, teaches Tom and Huck and Jim how to operate the balloon. On more than one occasion, the three attempt to escape from the balloon, but are thwarted by the "Professor".

Answer: The color of the ground.

The professor had claimed to the others that the balloon was always travelling at least fifty miles in an hour and could travel up to 300 miles an hour when there was a gale. Huck points out to Tom that the color of the ground and land has been the same for the entire trip.

He tells Tom that on the map Illinois is colored green and Indiana is colored pink and there is no pink around them. Tom seems like he wants to argue but he is not able to offer a counter-argument that convinces Huck or Jim. Jim is impressed by Huck's power of deduction.

Answer: England

Tom and the others were startled when the balloon flew past land and over the ocean (presumably the Atlantic). As they approach England, Jim and Huck are still interested in returning home, but Tom remarks that they have travelled so far they might as well see England so that they can have bragging rights.

When they land, they are in an area filled with sand and have a narrow escape from a lion. Where are they? Tom thinks this means they are near or in Africa's Sahara Desert.

Answer: Camels

While they are near a desert, the three are still in the balloon over 100 yards above the ground with some distance between them and the creatures. Huck thinks the animals are spiders but Tom mocks this idea pointing out that the creatures are probably much larger when closer.

As the balloon lowers, they see that the animals are camels. Many of the camels have riders who engage in battle.

Answer: Flea

After initial arguments about whether a flea is a bird or an animal, Tom claims that a flea travels faster, relatively speaking, than a human. He argues that few humans could run faster than 10 miles in an hour, or about 10,000 times the body length of a human.

A flea, by contrast, could jump up to 150 times its body length and make five of these jumps every second. He concludes, "A flea is just a comet b'iled down small." Tom goes on to state that he also considers the flea to be more intelligent than many larger animals.

Answer: A book

Arguing that the dead people will not need them, the travellers take a sword each and some pistols. The box is described as inlaid with jewels and gems. Huck feels that they should bury the bodies, they have no tools suitable to do this. They are uncertain how the people died, but a later sandstorm suggests one possibility.

Answer: Snake Filet

Though the lake appeared to have been a mirage, that did not stop Huck and Jim from swimming in it. While Huck clearly describes those three entrees, I do wonder how they found tigers in Africa, when they are native to Asia. On the plus side, Huck does describe it as the nicest meal he had ever had.

It should also be noted that the travelers did not kill the animals, but harvested the meat from carcasses that had already died.

Answer: Sell it.

Tom feels that people would be interested in genuine sand from the Sahara Desert. He thinks people would buy a small vial of it for ten cents (more valuable in the 19th century). He estimates that the balloon is covered with ten thousand dollars worth of sand and they could return it for more. Later he convinces himself that they would not be able to take sand home without paying a fortune in duties or tariffs.