The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
What generalization about human behavior may we infer from the referenceto the church bulletins?
found in chapter five
found in chapter five
It would seem that the "church bulletin" is steeped in American Church tradition.There is really nothing to justify this endless drone of activities and useless information, but Twain suggests it is the least justifiable processes which evolve into the strongest traditions,
"After the hymn had been sung, the Rev. Mr. Sprague turned himself into a bulletin-board, and read off "notices" of meetings and societies and things till it seemed that the list would stretch out to the crack of doom—a queer custom which is still kept up in America, even in cities, away here in this age of abundant newspapers. Often, the less there is to justify a traditional custom, the harder it is to get rid of it."