On Mark Twain’s Ethnic Reflection in Pudd’nhead Wilson

Wu Qiong Li Chunyan

Abstract： In the novel Puddnhead Wilson， Mark Twain expressed his racial concept—parenting determines everything. This paper aims to illustrate the influence of racism on black and white people under the social background at that time by analyzing the main characters in this novel.

Key words：Mark Twain; racialism; Puddnhead Wilson

1.Mark Twains Concept of Race

Under the social background at that time， Mark Twain created Puddnhead Wilson. In addition to the alienation， the author want to awaken the conscience of people through the image of Wilson in the works， seeking legal impartiality and rationality. This paper aims to illustrate the influence of racism on black and white people by analyzing the main characters in this novel.

2.Selfish-Tom

In this novel， fake Tom is a controversial character. He is the illegitimate child of female slave Roxy and colonel. And fake Tom was violent， arrogant， and even killed his uncle in order not to expose his crime. In order to maintain the familys dignity， he did not hesitate to challenge the twins. This reflects the importance of family glory and status at that time. It also shows that， in the social context of the time， the road to change racism is difficult.

For the people he grew up with， Chambers， “Tom” punched and kicked， without mercy. “Tom” is not half warm to Roxy， who raised him from an early age. When “Tom” learned his true identity， there was no little respect or love for his mother， and he even tried to kill her. Tom cares only about his white identity and status. When poor Roxy voluntarily sold her as a slave in order to pay off her sons gambling debts， her only request was not to sell her to the “lower reaches of the river”， but the inhuman “Tom”in order to get more money， but also to get rid of Roxys control completely， it was treacherous lying against her mothers only wish. Not only that， but when Roxy couldnt bear the brutal abuse of the slave owners and returned， “Tom” promised to help the slave owner get Roxy back. When Roxy told him about the painful scenes of being whipped by slave owners， “Tom” not only showed no sympathy， but was full of displeasure， secretly complaining that Roxy “completely disregarded maternal instincts”， ran here to bring him “irretrievable trouble”， and calculated that Roxy “boldly sent out.” Here， the great mother-son love has been completely distorted， “Tom” and Roxy each other as tools， secretly fighting， the relationship is cold materialized relationship. As for the white and black， there is only a naked slave relationship. The self-confessed thick- and Driscoll was furious because he had lost two dollars at home， so that would confess who the thieves were， or they would sell them all to the lower reaches of the river. As mentioned in the novel， upbringing is everything. Growing up in a white aristocratic family， fake Tom was arrogant and irritable. The aristocratic life and upbringing corroded his soul and made him become an egomaniac without moral values.

3. Pathetic-Chambers

Chambers， who grew up in a black environment， is honest， diligent and even a little weak. Roxy attributes her sons cowardice to the 32 percent who are black. Even when they did， Chambers was rude and spoke the lowest language. Chambers didnt fit in with the white aristocracy of his time. Habit is hard to break， no one can throw it out of the window， can only coax it step by step down the stairs.

Because at that time， the social inequality in the status of black and white people led to the difference in education and environmental concepts between black and white people， which had a great impact on the characters of the two protagonists. The Negros conception of the time was that the Negro was born， in spirit and virtue， to be a base and inferior people. As a black man， not only did Tom consider himself inferior to the white man， but so did his own mother， Roxy. Roxy was humble in front of white slave owners， but proud in front of people who were just as slave as she was， because she is only one-sixteenth as black as any other black. This brought her closer than other blacks to what she considered the noble white blood. She told him that your father was white， and made him proud of it， and even told him that there would never be another black man in the town as noble as you. She attributes her sons cowardice to the 32 percent who are black.

Conclusion

In conclusion， Mark Twain describes two powerful forces of alienation -- money and the physical and mental devastation of racism.Through the analysis of Tom and Chambers， it is found that racism has a profound and indelible influence on people.Therefore， from todays point of view， Mark Twains criticism at that time was profound， acute and noble.

References

[1] Fishkin， Shelley Fisher. “Mar Twain and Race” A Historical Guide to Mark Twain[M]. New York： Oxford University Press， 2002.

[2] Gerber， John C. The Tragedy of Puddnhead Wilson and Comedy of Those Extraordinary Twins[J]. Twaynes United States， 1998：535-554.

[3] 吳兰香.教养决定一切——《傻瓜威尔逊》中的种族观研究[J].外国文学评论， 2009（3）：175-184.

作者简介：吴琼：女，山东协和学院2016级英语专业学生

李春燕：女，硕士，副教授，研究方向：大学英语教学