1894: segregation laws are being formed, racial tensions are high, and signs of the gap between blacks and whites are everywhere. Against this backdrop, The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson is published as a novel. Almost two decades after slavery has been outlawed and two years before the historic Plessy vs. Ferguson case declares segregation legal, Mark Twain takes a stand against the widely accepted belief of white superiority. At a time when whites were generally viewed as superior to blacks in all regards, Twain advocates racial equality by making all characters susceptible to poor judgement out of love. Furthermore, Twain questions racial categorization by creating characters with mixed racial backgrounds. Twain portrays blacks as equal to
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Because the judge is an older man who did not have children of his own, the “longing for the treasure of a child had grown stronger and stronger as the years slipped away” (11). This strong longing leads him to indulge Chambers and blinds him to Chamber’s flaws, particularly his narcissism and arrogance. Other citizens of Dawson’s Landing view the way Chambers parades around town, flaunting his “Eastern fashion” as a “peculiarly wanton affront” but the judge himself does not criticize Chambers (71). Pudd’nhead Wilson correctly observes that “a devil adopted by an old couple is [always] an angel to them” (296). Chambers is forever an angel in the judge’s eyes even when others can see the devil that he truly is. Judge Driscoll even turns against his former friends, the Italian twins, because he believes Chamber’s “evidence in inferences” and biased account to be worth more than Wilson’s objective and honest report …show more content…
This self-love leads Chambers to ignore the loving actions of others and the cruelty of his own actions. After Roxy selflessly lets Chambers sell her back into slavery he completely disregards her one condition and sells her down river. Rather than being consumed with guilt and remorse, he adds insult to injury and manages to convince himself that he was actually doing Roxy a “splendid surreptitious service” by selling her down the river (259). This is a clear indication of how ignorant Chambers is to the truth as it is common knowledge that being sold down the river is “equivalent to [being condemned] to hell” (34). However, Chambers does not stop there, not only does Chambers take Roxy’s sacrifice for granted, he goes on to kill the very man who raised him and made him an heir to a large fortune, Judge Driscoll. After Roxy escapes from slavery, she tracks Chambers down and demands that he ask the judge for money to buy her back. Instead of “ruin[ing him]self” and requesting the money, he decides to rob the “old skinflint” (293). As Chambers is in the process of stealing the money, Driscoll grabs him from behind and “without hesitation [Chambers] drove the knife home” (301). Wilson, in charge of finding the murderer, does not even suspect Chambers because he cannot imagine Chambers being able to kill his “doting
Because the judge is an older man who did not have children of his own, the “longing for the treasure of a child had grown stronger and stronger as the years slipped away” (11). This strong longing leads him to indulge Chambers and blinds him to Chamber’s flaws, particularly his narcissism and arrogance. Other citizens of Dawson’s Landing view the way Chambers parades around town, flaunting his “Eastern fashion” as a “peculiarly wanton affront” but the judge himself does not criticize Chambers (71). Pudd’nhead Wilson correctly observes that “a devil adopted by an old couple is [always] an angel to them” (296). Chambers is forever an angel in the judge’s eyes even when others can see the devil that he truly is. Judge Driscoll even turns against his former friends, the Italian twins, because he believes Chamber’s “evidence in inferences” and biased account to be worth more than Wilson’s objective and honest report …show more content…
This self-love leads Chambers to ignore the loving actions of others and the cruelty of his own actions. After Roxy selflessly lets Chambers sell her back into slavery he completely disregards her one condition and sells her down river. Rather than being consumed with guilt and remorse, he adds insult to injury and manages to convince himself that he was actually doing Roxy a “splendid surreptitious service” by selling her down the river (259). This is a clear indication of how ignorant Chambers is to the truth as it is common knowledge that being sold down the river is “equivalent to [being condemned] to hell” (34). However, Chambers does not stop there, not only does Chambers take Roxy’s sacrifice for granted, he goes on to kill the very man who raised him and made him an heir to a large fortune, Judge Driscoll. After Roxy escapes from slavery, she tracks Chambers down and demands that he ask the judge for money to buy her back. Instead of “ruin[ing him]self” and requesting the money, he decides to rob the “old skinflint” (293). As Chambers is in the process of stealing the money, Driscoll grabs him from behind and “without hesitation [Chambers] drove the knife home” (301). Wilson, in charge of finding the murderer, does not even suspect Chambers because he cannot imagine Chambers being able to kill his “doting