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Judge Thatcher, Jeff Thatcher's brother and Becky Thatcher's father, is an organized, authoritative leader who looks out for the town's safety and cares deeply for his family. He is new to St. Petersburg and his arrival sparks mass excitement. Judge Thatcher enjoys somewhat of a celebrity status as the townspeople immediately characterize him as a well-traveled "prodigious personage." He commands respect even among children, who admire him as "the most august creation" they have ever seen. Children and adults alike behave ostentatiously in front of the Judge in an attempt to gain his attention and favor. Instead of their habitual harshness, teachers begin treating students with kindness and patience in the Judge's presence. Even Tom aims to please and, using tickets he obtained from his peers rather than earned himself, trades the tickets in for a Bible. The Superintendent indulges Tom and dramatically presents him with the Bible even though he knows that Tom did not truly earn the tickets. With both adults and children going out of their way to impress Judge Thatcher, Twain critiques the notion that showing off is a shortcoming of which only children are guilty. Rather, it is a learned behavior that children have absorbed from the adult role models in their lives. Twain uses Judge Thatcher to demonstrate that many tendencies that seem childlike are actually just juvenile imitations of adult practices.
Toward the end of the novel, Becky tells her father that Tom lied and took a beating for Becky after she ripped the book page. Instead of focusing on the sin of lying, Judge Thatcher declares that it was "a noble, a generous, a magnanimous lie." Though the Bible contends that lying is a sin, the Judge can see beyond mere technicality and recognizes that what Tom did for Becky was the truly honorable thing to do. Thatcher's high opinion of Tom reflects the Judge's strong moral character. However, this interaction also proves the inconsistencies of the adult world. Judge Thatcher preaches the Bible but, as seen here, celebrates an action that does not align with its ideologies. His character therefore demonstrates the contradictions of adult society.
