In chapters 34 and 35, Tom makes a lot of complicated plans to free Jim in order to make it more fun instead of just lifting the bed and removing the chain which would be easier, such as for example to saw the leg of the bed where Jim's chained; or to saw Jim´s leg even though he later decides that there´s no time for this; or he even thinks of getting a pen in order to mark on Jim´s shirt the number of days he was chained. All these ideas come from literature and more specifically from adventure books that Tom has read. This is confirmed by Tom's question to Huck " <em>Why, hain't you ever read any book at all? Baron Trenck, nor Casanova, nor Benvenuto Chelleeny, nor Henri IV, nor none of them heroes?</em>". Tom also keeps repeating the phrase "<em>That's what they all do</em>" which demonstrates once again that he bases his escape plans on famous escapes he has read about in books. Later, Tom himself reassures Huck that he knows all about escapes because he has read about them in books (<em>"...I've read all the books that give any information about these things"</em>).
c. to criticize his government's policy on Ireland
In the passage the narrator is literally talking about cooking and eating a child. He says that a child who has eaten well and is a year old would be a good food not matter how it was cooked. In the second paragraph, he says that eating the child would be no problem for landlords since they've already devoured the parents. The author may be talking about literally eating children, but in actuality he's criticizing his government's policy on Ireland.
The purpose of a counter argument in a persuasive text is to address any doubts the reader may have regarding the author's claim by refuting any possible flaws or opposing notions.
