
Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), written in a more sombre vein than his other Mississippi writings, was Mark Twain's last serious work of fiction. It reveals the sinister forces that, towards the end of his life, Twain thought to be threatening the American dream. The central plot revolves around the tragedy of "Roxy," a mulatto slave whose attempt to save her son from his fate succeeds only in destroying him. An astringent work which raises the serious issue of racial difference, Pudd'nhead Wilson is considered by the critic F.R. Leavis to be "a classic of the use of popular modes--the sensational and the melodramatic." The volume also includes two other late works by Twain, Those Extraordinary Twins and The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg.
A lawyer’s amateur fingerprinting hobby inadvertently exposes a long-hidden identity swap that threatens the social order of a small Missouri town. David Wilson, a newcomer labeled a fool by the local populace, observes the inhabitants of Dawson’s Landing with detached curiosity. The narrative follows the life of Roxy, a woman of mixed race who swaps her own son with her master’s child to secure a better future for him. As the boys grow, the consequences of this deception manifest in moral decay and legal catastrophe. The story utilizes a third-person omniscient perspective to critique the rigid societal structures of the antebellum South.
Discussion often centers on the stark contrast between the comedic elements of the early chapters and the grim, deterministic conclusion of the novel. Readers frequently highlight the technical innovation of using fingerprinting as a central plot mechanism, which was ahead of its time in literary fiction. Critics often debate the effectiveness of the satire, noting that Twain’s tone shifts significantly from his earlier, more lighthearted works. The inclusion of the additional tales provides a broader context for understanding Twain’s late-career preoccupation with human greed and societal failure. Many scholars emphasize that the work remains a significant, if unsettling, examination of the racial tensions inherent in the American experience.
Page Count:
320
Publication Date:
1999-07-22
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192837303
ISBN-13:
9780192837301
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