wilkes

Do you know what the status of fingerprinting was at the time this book was written? I'm wondering if Twain was on the cutting edge by using the fingerprints as forensic evidence or if this had already been done by the time Twain wrote the novel. I think this was an interesting part of the story.

I love Mark Twain, and I felt this was a more serious novel for him. There is a movie done of this book and I watched it several years ago. I liked it very much. I wonder if the public library has it.

1. It was probably a little of both on Twain's part
2. It's a possibility...but Twain did not participate in narrowing the black/white division that was beginning to take hold of the country at that time...it was to new to society...he was probably trying to determine just exactly what his stand on the subject was.
3. No, none of the characters showed sympathy nor compassion. I didn't particularly like Puddn'head...he was very matter of fact. He told the story, but was not a story teller. Maybe Puddn'head was how Twain felt, he put himself outside the story so that he wouldn't really have to concern himself with the injustices of the time.
4. You know that maybe the reason Twain didn't concern us with Chambers, if he grew up knowing his "place" then he wouldn't have really felt any resentment towards his mother...that is probably how alot of the slaves children were brought up so therefore it was acceptable.
It was my 1st time reading Twain...I would have to read more of his works to get a feel for his views.

But do you think we can read that as Twain's racism or Twain's conscious commentary on racism in society? I'm just not sure. From what I know of Twain, I know he abhorred slavery, but that doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't a racist. I just don't know about this one...

Did you also find parallels with "Chambers"/Tom's fate with the historical uncertainty of the United States (Reconstruction) at the time Twain wrote the novel? Do you think that's why we never found out what happened to him? Because the fate of blacks in the country was uncertain?

Did you personally find any of the characters sympathetic? Did you like Pudd'nhead Wilson? I was most sympathetic towards "Chambers," although I'm not sure that was the appropriate response. I suppose had he grew up as "Tom" he would have turned out in a similar fashion. But I thought it was so sad for him to grow up thinking that his own mother basically ignored him and doted on the white child of the master.

This is a bit of a twist on the Prince and the Pauper theme I suppose. Our condition/environment in our life has the largest influence on how we turn out. I found it interesting that immediately when "Tom" learned he was black he was sickened and felt miserable about himself. Just knowing a tiny portion of his blood was of black descent...he could easily pass as a white man.

I'm sorry I'm rambling. I thought the book was interesting. Nothing earth shattering and not as good as some of Twain's other writings, but I still enjoyed it a great deal. Twain has a wit that is seldom matched in literature.

I think it was deliberate on Twain's part...no where in the story did he show an inkling of sympathy for the plight of the slave...in other words, he may have disliked the institute of slavery, but the plight of the negro race as a whole, was not his concern. Twain gave his characters no chance to redeem or ask for "forgiveness" for themselves either, especially Roxy and Tom. That just fortifies that there may have been some sort of racism within Twain himself...in other words he wanted to let the readers of that day know what his views were on slavery, but at the same time keep the slave " in his place" so to speak.

I agree with 1Goddess that the lack of knowledge about the eventual fate of the characters is troubling. Knowing that Twain wrote this story many years after the Civil War, duing the period of Reconstruction, I wonder if this is in some way a commentary on the state of Reconstruction. Twain typically had a political agenda in his writing. This is very clear in the novel. He obviously abhors the institution of slavery, and this book, without being overly graphic in detail, exposes some of the troubling realities of racism and slavery.

I think I am most sad for "Chambers," or the real Tom. I think he is very symbolic of the fate of the black man post civil war. Although on paper his status has improved...he's no longer a slave...but so what? It didn't much improve his chances of a successful life and he still felt terribly caught between two worlds. He'll always be identified in some ways as a black man and a slave, even though he truly isn't. I can imagine that the African Americans felt very much this way in the years following the civil war. As the real Tom's future was unknown, so was the fate of the former slaves.

Another point that I found interesting is that in the beginning of the book I had so much sympathy for Roxy. I understood her desperation to switch the babies. But seeing what she did later on made me believe that she sort of got what was coming to her. She helped turn her son into a monster. It wasn't just that he was posing as the heir of a priveleged white family.

I did find it horribly ironic that her son ended up selling her down the river, which was exactly what she was trying to avoid for him. However, I somehow felt much less sympathy for her than maybe I should have. Was this just me, or was this deliberate on Twain's part?