The first thing that comes to mind when I hear Tom Sawyer is the white washed fence. It stands in my mind as a representation of the imagination that children are very much connected with, as well as the skill of being a con artist. Tom is very cunning and isn’t much for hard work, and he’s smart enough to know that everything is on based perception. Tom changes the perception of the boy walking past, who perceives  that Tom is working extremely hard.

What do you call work?”

“Why, ain’t that work?”

Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly:

“Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain’t. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”

“Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you like it?”

The brush continued to move.

“Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a chance to whitewash a fence every day?”

That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple. Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth – stepped back to note the effect – added a touch here and there – criticised the effect again – Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said:

“Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”

Tom saw an opening to free himself simply by changing the boys perception of what he saw. This power lies in all children as well as adults, and it’s alarmingly simple to use. What really matters is what you allow your self to see. If one takes the same idea and applies to other readings, something surprising might occur  in how you view things that once seemed very black or white.