I am writing book report on Tom Sawyer. What were the social settings in Hanibal, MS in 1840?

Answer 1

First of all the setting was not in Hannibal Mississippi. [MS] It was in Hannibal Missouri [MO]
Mark Twain is the name used by
Samuel Clemmens and that was the Home town of Samuel Clemmens
PS.......I'M From Missouri................

http://www.marktwainhouse.org/
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Use the links for excellent information
.............Key facts.........................
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tomsawyer/facts.html
...............Plot Overview.................
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/tomsawyer/summary.html
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An imaginative and mischievous boy named

................Below is where................
...............It all began for Tom..........

Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother, Sid, in the Mississippi River town of St. Petersburg, Missouri.
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After playing hooky from school on Friday and dirtying his clothes in a fight, Tom is made to whitewash the fence as punishment on Saturday. At first, Tom is disappointed by having to forfeit his day off. However, he soon cleverly persuades his friends to trade him small treasures for the privilege of doing his work. He trades these treasures for tickets given out in Sunday school for memorizing Bible verses and uses the tickets to claim a Bible as a prize. He loses much of his glory, however, when, in response to a question to show off his knowledge, he incorrectly answers that the first two disciples were David and Goliath.

Answer 2

Social settings:
Wealthy vs. underclass (poor)
Slaves vs. slave-owners
Slave-owners vs. abolistionists
Old vs. young (adults vs. children)
Racist vs. liberal
Crafty vs. gullible
Religious vs. athiests (and religion vs. religion)

I think if you factor in Huck's age, which is about twelve or thirteen, you would find that it is not unreasonable to hold his experience accountable to other children's. Twain is very much interested in social setting and the nature of the underclass here--he's not just making fun of the Christian middle class but trying to make the case that some people just do not belong. In chapters 1-4, he punctuates his "boys tale" with some creepy evocation of loneliness and superstition as well, which is his attempt to put you inside the weird mind of an uneducated runaway who can't read, who doesn't believe anything, who has no family or friends. He's not just a metaphor of American freedom but a painstakingly drawn social type.

Answer 3

well it was the south so obviously slavery, im not too sure but i think there was a time in the 1800s when there was prohibition before the big one in the 1900s. oppressed women, extremely poor people. its also the bible belt... oh that helps.