Cadets of Temperance

The Cadets of Temperance was a juvenile organization in St. Petersburg that Tom Sawyer joined, attracted not by its moral mission but by the showy character of its "regalia," particularly a red sash. As a member, he promised to abstain from smoking, chewing tobacco, and profanity for as long as he remained in the order. Almost immediately, Tom discovered a new and troubling psychological truth: to promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go and do that very thing. He soon found himself tormented with a desire to drink and swear, a desire that grew so intense that only the hope of a chance to display himself in his red sash kept him from withdrawing from the order.

The Judge's Health and the Resignation

Tom's hopes for a grand public display of the Cadets' regalia became fixed on the impending death of old Judge Frazer, the justice of the peace, who was apparently on his deathbed. Tom anticipated a big public funeral for the high official, an event that would allow him to parade in his sash before the whole town. For three days he was deeply concerned about the Judge's condition and hungry for news of it, his hopes running so high that he would venture to get out his regalia and practice before the looking-glass. However, the Judge had a most discouraging way of fluctuating. At last, the Judge was pronounced on the mend and then convalescent. Tom was disgusted and felt a sense of injury. He handed in his resignation at once—and that very night, the Judge suffered a relapse and died. Tom resolved that he would never trust a man like that again.

The Aftermath of Freedom

The funeral was a fine thing, and the Cadets paraded in a style calculated to kill the late member with envy. But Tom was a free boy again, and he found that the simple fact that he could now drink and swear took the desire away, along with the charm of it. His brief membership in the Cadets of Temperance had taught him a paradoxical lesson about the nature of prohibition and desire, a lesson that would inform his future adventures and his understanding of the rules that govern both childhood and adult society.