What are the developments of Tom as a human being?

One of the major themes of Tom Sawyer is moral and social maturation. At the start of the book, Tom is typically a much hated and despised prankster, constantly fooling around and emotionally damaging the other townspeople. “He was not the Model Boy of the village. He knew the model boy very well though–and loathed him,” (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 4). The best way to describe the progression of Tom’s maturity is stated in an online reference as such, “As the novel progresses, these initially consequence-free childish games take on more and more gravity. Tom leads himself, Joe Harper, Huck, and, in the cave, Becky Thatcher into increasingly dangerous situations. He also finds himself in predicaments where he must put his concern for others above his concern for himself, such as when he takes Becky’s punishment and when he testifies at Injun Joe’s trial. As Tom begins to take initiative to help others instead of himself, he shows his increasing maturity, competence, and moral integrity” (“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, Spark Notes, online). I feel this quote so accurately sums up Tom’s mental evolution so well, that little elaboration on the subject is required.As Tom ventures to Jackson’s Island and McDougal’s Cave, he retreats further and further away from society, becoming somewhat of a recluse even. However, with each journey away from classical society he is able to venture further into his own mind in order to reach a mental maturity not possible through common practices amongst the community. Early in his adventures Tom uses Huck as an idol, as someone he can look up to and aspire to be, but as the story progresses Tom no longer needs to look up to Huck for guidance, in fact the reader could expect Huck to start idolizing Tom and perhaps even begin to shadow him through his mental journey into maturity. “Tom’s personal growth is evident in his insistence, in the face of Huck’s desire to flee all social constraints, that Huck stay with the Widow Douglas and become civilized”