Race in Society

One of the central themes in Mark Twain’s, Pudd’nhead Wilson, is racism and how society puts heavy classifications on race.  The first example we come across, is Roxy, who Twain describes as, “very fair, with the rosy glow of vigorous health in the cheeks, her face was full of character and expression, her eyes were brown and liquid, and she had a heavy suit of fine soft hair which was also brown, but the fact was not apparent because her head was bound about with a checkered handkerchief and the hair was concealed under it” (Twain 64).  To an unknowing observer she appears white, and has qualities that would most likely fit in well with the rest of the citizens in Dawson’s Landing, but since a small fraction of her blood is black (1/16), she lives as a slave.  Twain explains, “To all intents and purposes Roxy was as white as anybody, but the one sixteenth of her which was black outvoted the other fifteen parts and made her a negro” (Twain 64).  What’s interesting about the way Twain’s explanation is how he mentions the fifteen parts of her that were black that out voted her.  It is ironic because black people didn’t have the right to vote, but here, when it comes to being a slave, it is the only time where black can out match white.  It’s a clever trick that brings light to the unfortunate position society has put on black people by not only preventing them from voting, but having any other choice in that matter in slavery.

            Roxy is one of Twain’s strongest characters, and arguably one of the smartest.  By presenting her this way in the society of Dawson’s Landing, he highlights the irrationality of putting someone like Roxy in the lowest levels of society.  Another strong moment where we as readers feel the implications society puts on race is when Tom discovers he is actually.  Twain writes, “The tremendous catastrophe which had befallen Tom had changed his moral landscape in much the same way” (Twain 118).  When Tom goes out into society with knowledge of who he really is Twain writes, “It was the ‘nigger’ in him asserting its humility and he blushed and was abashed.  And the ‘nigger’ in him was surprised when the whit friend put out his hand for a shake with him” (Twain 118).  Tom, though raised as though he was white and acted so, begins to associate himself with how society would treat him if they knew he was black.  It doesn’t not matter how he was raised or what he was taught, society’s nature of classifying race overrules the way he was nurtured.  Eventually Tom goes back to acting the way he was, once he gains his confidence again, but in his moment of weakness, readers can see the weight society bears to slaves and how they identify them. 

            It is interesting how Twain brings light to society’s role in racism.  Clearly it controls the classification of race and takes away from personal identity immediately based on race.  We see this in Roxy, who could be just as white as anyone, but because she has a fraction of “Black blood” in her, society defines her for her. 

Works Cited

Twain, Mark. Pudd'nhead Wilson.  New York: Penguin,1986.  Print.