Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy
Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy
Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy
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216<br />
<strong>Interpretation</strong><br />
Tom wiU take care not to corrupt the blood that invokes those powers by<br />
any negligence with respect to natural causality. The oath is required, as<br />
Huck puts it, because "that Injun devU wouldn't make any more <strong>of</strong><br />
drownding us than a couple <strong>of</strong> cats, if we was to squeak 'bout this and they<br />
didn't hang him."<br />
The oath then has the purpose <strong>of</strong> guaranteeing their<br />
personal safety by adding a supernatural sanction to the fear already<br />
engendered by Injun Joe. It draws a kind <strong>of</strong> pledge for its enforcement<br />
from the blood, which takes the place <strong>of</strong> God in what we would consider<br />
a conventional oath. Of course, it is their lifeblood that they wish to safe<br />
guard. Shedding blood makes the oath a kind <strong>of</strong> homeopathic antitoxin,<br />
in which respect it bears a certain resemblance to the wart cures.<br />
Before the night is out the horror <strong>of</strong> the murder has been augmented by<br />
the howling dog. After that omen <strong>of</strong> death has passed, Tom is convinced<br />
that it is Muff Potter who is doomed. He seems unaware that if Muff is<br />
doomed, it is because <strong>of</strong> their own oath to conceal the truth. As we have<br />
seen, that oath now stands in the way <strong>of</strong> truth, justice, and the security <strong>of</strong><br />
the community. This oath, we see, protects Injun Joe at the inquest, where<br />
the boys for the first time feel the puU <strong>of</strong> sympathy for poor, betrayed<br />
Muff Potter. They hear the "stonyhearted liar [Injun Joe]<br />
serene<br />
reel <strong>of</strong>f his<br />
statement"<br />
falsely accusing Muff, and they expect "every moment<br />
that the clear sky would dehver God's lightnings upon his head."<br />
When<br />
divine vengeance fails, they conclude that "'this miscreant sold himself to<br />
Satan and it would be fatal to meddle with the property <strong>of</strong> such a power<br />
as that."<br />
Tom's conscience is thus quieted by<br />
the opinion that God has<br />
abdicated responsibUity too. When in the crisis he does the work <strong>of</strong> God,<br />
it will not, however, appear to be God's work. It wiU be Tom Sawyer's.<br />
It is some weeks later that Muff, who has now been charged with the<br />
murder, finaUy comes to trial. The boys are oppressed by their secret,<br />
yet fear dominates guilt. Tom seeks out Huck to find whether the latter's<br />
resolve has weakened. Huck seems firm enough. He appears to know<br />
Injun Joe better than Tom, and being an outcast himself is less likely<br />
to have protection from Joe's vengeance. It is clear that Tom fears his<br />
own resolve more than he fears Huck's when he suggests that they swear<br />
their oath <strong>of</strong> secrecy again. Having sworn, the boys relapse into com<br />
miseration for Muff. "He ain't no<br />
account,"<br />
says Huck, "but then he<br />
hain't ever done anything to hurt anybody. Just fishes a little, to get<br />
money But<br />
to get drunk on . . .<br />
it transpires that he also shared food<br />
with Huck, when there wasn't enough for two, and that he has mended<br />
kites for Tom and knitted hooks to his fishlines. They try to relieve their<br />
guilt by doing many small kindnesses for Muff at the village jail, but the<br />
pathetic gratitude they receive in return only adds mightily to their inward<br />
torture.<br />
The trial comes on, and at the end <strong>of</strong> the second day, with Injun Joe's<br />
evidence unshaken, it appears there can be but one verdict. That night<br />
Tom is out late and returns home "in a tremendous state <strong>of</strong><br />
excitement."<br />
The next day three witnesses are caUed. The first testifies to seeing Muff