Friday, October 19, 2012

Twain on Society


Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, remains at the height of American literature because of his creative manner that he used to criticize the culture around him in a subtle, yet sometimes vicious manner; and of course, Pudd’nhead Wilson shines brightly as one of his best works. “Adam was but human—this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple’s sake, he wanted it only because it was forbidden” (Twain, 5). A perhaps notorious line from the main protagonist’s calendar of witty sayings humorously demonstrates the essence in which Twain sees many Americans behaving. In doing so he is gently prodding the reader to ponder how such a seemingly obvious phrase alludes to in everyday life. I believe the dichotomous author is commenting that the only reason the average person engages in unlawful or taboo actions is simply because they are told not to. If left alone, perhaps, an individ-ual might not venture or even notice what they have yet to interfere with. The use of an ancient figure from a well-known source (Adam) causes many persons to stop and ruminate also. Regardless, there is a great deal of these unwonted quotes at the beginning of each chapter, but the next one in particular seems to strike a note of considerable interest to what the writer thinks of race.
Something truly vital to the composition of Pudd’nhead Wilson is the idea that our environment, and ourselves as well, shapes who and what we eventually become. “Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education” (Twain, 22). It’s intriguing how Clemens compares a sweet fruit to a coarse seed and then goes on to use cabbage as a lesser form of vegetable. However, the choice of cabbage is, I think, well plucked because it denotes a rugged sense of poverty and uncouth manual labor. The cauliflower on the other hand is a sophisticated and refined vegetable that few bother to understand and appreciate for its unusual taste. That said, I believe this metaphor elucidates the unfair and sometime cruel way that slaves, and individuals believed to black, were treated like stupid animals just because of their skin color. Along those lines a person should then realize that everyone is equally valuable and should be given a chance to succeed as far his neighbor. This I believe is the over-arching theme of Twain’s story.
           

1 comment:

  1. I liked how you worked from Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar to prove your points as well as from the text, Isaac.

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