Basically what happens in chapter 17 is Tom, Huck's and Joe's funeral. It was a sad day in the village , everybody got together in the church for their funeral. It was one of the first times that the church was so full with people.Becky felt bad because she rejected Tom and thinks that she won't be with him again. All of their friends started to remember what they had done together, the last time that each of them saw Tom, Huck and Joe, their last words and who had been the last one to be with them. Mass had already started and in the middle of it, the three boys came walking through the door.everybody was surprised and happy. their families hugged them and kissed and were so thankful for having them back. tom noticed that nobody hugged Huck so he told Aunt Polly and then HE received some hugs and kisses too. The last line of the chapter is : "Tom got more cuffs and kisses that day according to Aunt Polly's varying moods, than he had earned before in a year and he hardly knew which expressed the most gratefulness to God and affection for himself." I think this means that Tom got more kisses and hugs that day compared to what he gets in the whole year and he couldnt figure out if all that affection was a way of demonstrating how thankful she was to God for having him back, or if she was simply showing how much she loved Tom .
