The Role Of Language In Mark Twain's Pudd Nhead Wilson

In society, language holds the absolute power. Both consciously and unconsciously, society prioritizes certain words and phrases above others, which goes on to reflect the opinions and values of our society as a whole and further reveal what characteristics we find to be superior as well as inferior. In Mark Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson, society prioritizes “white” over “black” and racial identity is tied directly to the law. However, throughout the novel these classifications are proven to be based on false and unfounded beliefs, and as a result, distinctions made on race are shown to be arbitrary to a society’s balance due to the fact that race is a product of nurture and social teachings rather than that of nature and evolutionary progress. …show more content…
However, the roles of the two subjects has been reversed in Twain’s novel. Speech plays a unique role in that it is the only indicator that the characters of Roxy and “Chambers” are slaves. By speaking in the dialect commonly associated with that of slaves, the characters dissociate themselves from the white community of which they fit by appearances only. At the end of the novel when Tom and Chambers are returned to their original social standings, neither can fit into the confinements of society or feel as though they can belong to the cultures from which they were so long excluded. Tom is now too well-educated and free-willed to fit the stereotype of a proper slave, and Chambers lacks the refinement as well as education to return to his aristocratic upbringing. At the same time, both speak in dialects foreign and alienating to that of their social class. In regards to writing, education is respected in society and prioritized over what can be referred to as street smarts. To write is to be able to read and to be of the scholarly sort. Even figures like David “Pudd’nhead” Wilson, who is considered an off-putting outsider of his community, are respected for their intellect in the least bit, whereas those with natural born wit, such as Roxy, are disregarded. A person’s social standing is defined by a basis of their education level rather than their merit, and this practice goes on to perpetuate the system of racial oppression as well. By denying those of African descent the right to education, these people are kept in uneducated, poor conditions, thus squandering any chances of rising to a higher social class. Therefore, speech and writing have an almost direct correlation with racial distinctions made in society. Dialect has all to do with distinguishing one social class from another when