Puddnhead Wilson Essay - 736 Words

A Character Analysis of Tom Driscoll nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;In Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain, the story of two boys, who were switched at early childhood, is told. One of these boys, Tom Driscoll, displays many characteristics in the novel. Tom shows how he is rude and a liar, but he also exhibits his ability to change his ways. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;From his childhood to his later years, it was evident that Tom Driscoll was a rude character. For example, during his childhood, Tom and Chambers (the boy with whom Tom was switched with and who was also Tom’s slave) always went an â€Å"played† together. On such instance was when they went swimming with Tom’s friends and were diving off of canoes. Chambers was an excellent†¦show more content†¦Regardless of the obvious company, Tom kept his rude manor and made fun of Wilson’s law career. Although it was true that Pudd’nhead Wilson’s law career was all but successful, Tom had no right to embarrass him so, especially in front of guests. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Not only was Tom Driscoll rude in the way he carried himself, but he was also a liar. This characteristic manifested itself when Tom tried to get people on â€Å"his side.† Such an instance was when there was news of multiple thefts happening in Dawson’s Landing, specifically, a knife that belonged to the twins from out-of-town. The real thief was Driscoll, but he convinced the town constable Jim Blake that the knife did not exist, and even if it did exist, the twins were hiding it in order to receive attention. In gaining Blake on his side, Driscoll was also able to make Pudd’nhead Wilson question his trust in the twins. Furthermore, Tom Driscoll lied to his uncle in order to win his praise. He told his uncle that one of the twins, Count Luigi, was a â€Å"confessed assassin† (97). By doing so, Tom was now a good man in hi uncle’s eyes (for Tom had been considered a coward for not dueling with Luigi), however, this put Luig i’s life in jeopardy. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Although Tom Driscoll had many evil traits, he was able to change his views and actions. However, this was limited only to the stimuli that he deemed important or that touched him deeply. A major event that changedShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Mark Twain s Works Made A Huge Impact On Readers And Literary Critics1288 Words   |  6 Pageswas marked by duality and contradiction, â€Å"In Lighting Out for the Territory: Reflections on Mark Twain and American Culture, Shelley Fisher Fishkin has noted that the man who wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) and The Tragedy of Pudd nhead Wilson (1894) was not a racist.†(Azoreans 17). The Innocents Abroad is that â€Å"the Portuguese Twain comments on are not living in an American setting, but rather in their native land.†(Azoreans 17). In this sense, Twain is not only providing a valuableRead MoreModern F. Robert Frost1547 Words   |  7 PagesPrint. Mounce, Robert H. â€Å"Simplicity, the Ultimate Sophistication.† So They Say. Eugene: Resource Publications, 2014. 2. Print. Thompson, Carol. Frost and Nature Frost Friends. Frost Friends, 1 Jan. 2000. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. . Twain, Mark. Pudd nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins. Ed. Sidney E. Berger. Norton Critical Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2005. 125. Print. Untermeyer, Louis. â€Å"Robert Frost: An Appreciation† and â€Å"The Poets Invitation.† The Road Not Taken: A Selection of FrostRead MoreHistorical And Literary Representations Of The Black Cat By Edgar Allan Poe2413 Words   |  10 PagesAmericans faced during the Reconstruction period. Mark Twain’s literary work, Pudd’nhead Wilson, maintains that even after the Civil War and the strides black Americans made, race was still a pressing issue in America and its central problems were still lingering. Twain re-defined race, as not by the color of ones skin, but by society’s beliefs and past practices. This definition is brought about in Pudd’nhead Wilson and the intertwined story of Roxy, her white master, and their two sons. Roxana was oneRead MoreHuckleberry Finn2439 Words   |  10 Pagesdiscrimination and hatred to finally achieve their equality. As phrased in the article â€Å"The King Solomon episode reveals Twain s perception that two decades after the Civil War, liberty and justice for all were still—to borrow a phrase from Pudd nhead Wilso n—a fiction of law and custom (9). In December 1885, Twain wrote to the president of Yale University, We have ground the manhood out of them [ the other color ], and the shame is ours, not theirs, and we should pay for it (Letter). Apologists