It is only after the treasure is had that Huck should be provided for. Once he comes into a great deal of money, the Widow Douglas offers to take him in and treat him as if he were her own son. The genius of this connection is to assimilate the relationship between economic value, and social value. It is only after Huck has money that he is able to be treated as a member of St. Petersburg. This change however is certainly not welcomed by Huck. It is obvious to the reader that this character would never willingly remove him self from the lifestyle to which he has become accustom. Although the offer by the widow is a generous one indeed, Twain illustrates that when removed from the conventions of society for so long, one cannot hope to return. Huck has been claimed by the wilds in which he lived, and to go back to a civilized lifestyle would not be possible for him, but as he is just a minor he does not have any option, he must accept this apparent choice as an inevitability. In this event the author again shows the hypocrisy of society, how it is only acceptable because the character is a boy, were it Injun Joe who found the treasure, the Widow Douglas would not offer to take him in. This double standard is apparent throughout the novel, and is expressed on a seemingly rhythmic basis, as it occurs more often than any other theme. This just goes to show another valid point made by the author, that being included in society comes at its own price too, and could be considered a luxury for which a tax must be paid, but the tax in question here is not one of a monetary value, but rather something more spiritual and sacrificial, ones own freedom. In order to be accepted into St. Petersburg, Huck is forced to give up his feral self, and take on a persona unbecoming of him, a persona of the average child, bound by the shackles of law and order which have been implemented, not by a court, but by the moral and ethical views of the society to which he is being incorporated into.
The final recognizable major theme of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is superstition in an uncertain world. Superstition can be defined as, “an irrational belief or practice resulting from ignorance or fear of the unknown. The validity of superstitions is based on belief in the power of magic and witchcraft and in such invisible forces as spirits and demons” (“Superstition,” The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition). This theme if first introduced when Tom and Huck venture into the graveyard to try some kind of voodoo or mysticism to cure some warts. The superstition of the main characters in this novel could be a reflection of the old times and under-educated characters, or a demonstration in the differences of childhood and adulthood. The superstition of the boys runs a close parallel to religion in society. When certain events are encountered they must choose which superstition they are going to follow and make their decisions from. It is in this manner that Twains pokes fun at mainstream religious beliefs, and exposes the hypocrisy in the world's belief system. However, in order to achieve all of these effects, Twain must evoke the help of an unrealistic universe in which he can place all his characters and events, so that they may interact without question from the reader. “The humorousness of the boys' obsession with witches, ghosts, and graveyards papers over, to some extent, the real horror of the things to which the boys are exposed: grave digging, murder, starvation, and attempted mutilation. The relative ease with which they assimilate these ghastly events into their childish world is perhaps one of the least realistic aspects of the novel. (If the novel were written today, we might expect to read about the psychic damage these extreme childhood experiences have done to these boys.) The boys negotiate all this horror because they exist in a world suspended somewhere between reality and make-believe. Their fear of death is real and pervasive, for example, but we also have the sense that they do not really understand death and all of its ramifications” (“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,” Spark Notes, online).
