Wikipedia writes — “Tom Sawyer is a saucy boy, a natural show-off, who likes to show his authority over other boys. He is around 12–13 years old as gathered from hints in Twain’s works. He was born in a town on the Mississippi River, where he and Huck grew up.[citation needed] Tom is supposed to represent the carefree and wonderful world of boyhood in the antebellum era. As many boys of those days, he likes going barefoot most of the time. His best friends include Joe Harper and Huckleberry Finn. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Tom’s infatuation with Becky Thatcher is apparent. He has a half-brother, Sid, a cousin, Mary, and his aunt is known as Aunt Polly, with all of whom he lives. Tom is Aunt Polly’s dead sister’s son. It is unknown how Tom’s mother died.
In Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom is only a minor character, and is used as a foil for Huck, particularly in the later chapters of the novel. Tom’s immaturity and obsession with stories and his imagination put Huck’s planned rescue of Jim in great jeopardy. Throughout the novel Huck’s intellectual and emotional development is a central theme, and by re-introducing a character from the beginning (Tom), Twain is able to highlight this evolution in Huck’s character. Tom is treated in a less than stellar light in Huck’s novel, often portrayed as selfish, deluded, and particularly racist, for his treatment of Jim and others.”
Here’s what Spark Notes say, “Tom is the same age as Huck and his best friend. Whereas Huck’s birth and upbringing have left him in poverty and on the margins of society, Tom has been raised in relative comfort. As a result, his beliefs are an unfortunate combination of what he has learned from the adults around him and the fanciful notions he has gleaned from reading romance and adventure novels. Tom believes in sticking strictly to “rules,” most of which have more to do with style than with morality or anyone’s welfare. Tom is thus the perfect foil for Huck: his rigid adherence to rules and precepts contrasts with Huck’s tendency to question authority and think for himself.”
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