Emphasis in the book's Critical Readings section is on new approaches to Tom Sawyer. Its eleven 5,000-word essays examine such innovative topics as Tom Sawyer in modern classrooms, the novel as autobiography, Tom Sawyer as an enduring icon, Mark Twain's depictions of Native Americans, Tom Sawyer within the genre of bad-boy literature, the question of whether the novel reflects an idyllic boyhood dream or a nightmare, odd superstitions in the novel, motherhood, and other family issues, the role of Becky Thatcher and girls in the novel, Tom Sawyer's legacy in Mark Twain's hometown of Hannibal, and screen adaptations of the novel.