Throughout the novel, Puddn'head Wilson, Twain uses many themes. Two major ones being identity and reputation. Twain also uses irony as a big part of the story line. An example of irony would be how Roxy, when she was a freed women, was sold by her son "Tom", who is a slave. Twain reminds the reader what has motivated Roxy's actions, which is clear that she feared "Tom" would be sold "down the river". "…I will not only sell all four of you, but-I will sell you down the rover!" (Twain, 68). The narrator describes this phrase as being equal, or even worse than hell. Whats is better, to be sold "down the river" or life imprisonment? I thought Twain did a great job of bringing up the importance and dramatic effect that being sold "down the river" meant to the characters in the novel.
By the end of the novel, I did not know what to think. As we discussed in class, there could have been a plethora of different endings. Why did Twain convict Tom instead of making Puddn'head the fool? In Twain's ending, Puddn'head wins. At first, he was the town's fool and by the end of the novel, became mayor. He was the only honest character in the novel and I think he got what he deserved. Although Chambers was also an honest character, he was pretty much isolated from the story. Chambers was trained to take insult at a young age, however, it was not easy for him. We see him try to fight back, but things obviously didn't go his way. Yes he becomes a freed man and an heir, but he could not read/write and "his speech was the basest dialect of the negro quarter" (Twain, 225). Puddn'head ends up stepping up into society. I really enjoyed how Twain brought up the plot twist. While reading the novel, I didn't know how the ending would be; Twain always kept me on the edge of my seat.
posted by Unknown @ 10:09 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Natalie,
You make some interesting points. It was definitely ironic when Tom ended up selling her down the river, making the whole switch seem useless. I thought the ending related to the theme you mentioned, identity. Puddn'head had to live under a reputation rather than an Identity, just like Tom, so in the end Puddn'head is able to live as his true self, like a lawyer the way he wanted, and Tom's true identity is revealed and he lives the way he is supposed to. The story ends with identity, and like always, Twain uses irony. It's quite clever!
The comparison between being "sold down the river" and hell I think is a very accurate one. What I find interesting about being "being sold down the river" is that the northern states use that as a punishment. The north claims to be nicer to there slaves than the south. I find interesting that the north use the south in a way to reinforce their authority despite them claiming to be better than the south. But are they really? If they can do something like sell someone down them down the river there is no difference between the north and the south.
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