Summary Chapter 17

In town, the boys are missed by everyone. Tom and Joe’s families are in mourning.

Becky Thatcher wishes she had kept the doorknob to have something to remember Tom by. The children reminisce about the boys, seeing omens now of their early deaths. Those who saw the boys last are envied.

Sunday church service is mournful. It is fuller than usual.

The minister feels bad that he used to ignore the boys and only saw their flaws. People start to cry as the better qualities of the boys are remembered.

The boys emerge after listening to their own funeral eulogy. Tom and Joe’s families are happy to see them. Huck feels embarrassed because no one is glad to see him. Aunt Polly makes him more uncomfortable by being motherly to him.

Everyone’s spirits have risen. Aunt Polly spends the rest of the day either cuffing Tom or kissing him.