Spare the Rod

In chapter one, Aunt Polly, speaking of Tom, declares “He’s full of the Old Scratch…” Old Scratch was a folk name used for Satan, mostly in the southern part of the United States before the 20^th century. In chapter 33, Tom mentions “these new-fangled things they call lucifer matches,” also a reference to Satan. ISAIAH 14:12-21 reveals Lucifer as Satan’s original name, before he sinned.