Mark Twains The Prince and the Pauper and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Essay Example

Literature After so many years of his death, Mark Twain still remains one of the prominent and most loved literary figures of the United States. Most of his writings have irreverent humour, combined with a positive sense of human emotions. Twain has experienced small towns growing into big cities and urban centres with all the communication and travelling facilities which could not be thought of before that, hence his writings have a touch of these feelings. He travelled a lot within and outside the country as a lecturer and a travel writer. Being one of the first humorists of the country, he has always focussed on writing only his first-hand experiences. Following is the review and analysis of two of his famous stories: “The Prince and the Pauper” and “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. Mark Twain’s novel “The Prince and the Pauper” which is relatively a simple piece of writing, has handled a lot of literary ideas and themes at the same time. Though it is not based on his direct personal experience, he has very creatively, made use of the experiences of two boys who gradually lost their innocence or ignorance and turn into responsible individuals. The fundamental concept of exchanging roles between the two main characters of the novel, the Prince (Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales) and the Pauper (Tom Canty); has been depicted tremendously by the author. Before meeting, both the characters dreamt the lives of each other. Both of them were unaware of the balance and beauty of their lives, they later on learn it when their clothes and roles get exchanged. Not only this, but their dreams also get shattered as a consequence of this exchange. Both the characters lived in a restricted society. The author has portrayed beautifully how the prince was confined to his royal palaces with nobles and aristocrats surrounding him and did not have the freedom to move around as a common man. The freedom that was desired by both the men only exists in dreams. Another idea that Twain has depicted in his novel, is the perception that clothes make the man, it is creatively conveyed that when the clothes were exchanged, the prince gets treated like a pauper immediately and likewise, the pauper gets the treatment of a prince just because of the clothes that has been worn by him. It can be rendered that Mark Twain was attracted towards the subject matter of “The Prince and the Pauper” due to the fact that he had always enjoyed writing about an era controlled and governed by royal and noble families. It was written in such an age where there was not only nobility and political divisions to write on, but also the religious restlessness among the people which was the rise of the new concepts of law and justice. In this novel, the author primarily focuses on social injustice which the new king comes across as he wanders around the streets as a common man. The author has made commendable use of his wide knowledge of history and biography which were the two main subjects of Twain’s reading age. This novel allowed him to not only observe and depict closely the injustice present in human nature, but also allowed him to indulge in writing the language not spoken by common people. The idioms and parlances that the author has used in his work like “The Prince and the Pauper” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” are a proof that Twain is a great fan of using different kinds of language in his work to tell stories in a different way. (Rasmussen 145) “The Prince and the Pauper” possesses one of the elaborated plots in the entire work of Mark Twain. An incident which seems quite unimportant and trivial, when the prince gets to know his real identity, similarly, Tom the pauper’s actions are affected positively when he becomes the king, due to his knowledge of Latin and experience of being a counsellor to the people of the Offal Court. Mark twain’s novel “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” published in 1876, is an adventure story of a child, it can also be considered as a bildungsroman. A bildungsroman is a novel which focuses on the psychological and moral development of a young individual. However, the author has not taken Tom, the main character; to full adulthood. Tom Sawyer does not only appeal to the adolescents who get inspired by the mischief and adventures of Tom Sawyer but also to the adult readers who get carried away to their childhood. The adventures are found delightful and intriguing to all ages irrespective of their caste, culture or race. One of the important successes of the novel can be portrayed by the fact that many of the scenes from this novel have become a part of the cultural heritage. For example, the scene of painting the fence; Tom encourages others to paint the fence he was supposed to do, the scene of curious boys in the graveyard and the scene of Tom and Becky being lost in the dark cave. Twain has captured the true essence of childhood with all the fears, enthusiasm and mischievousness. (Twain 125) As far as the structure of the novel is concerned, one can conclude that it is a simple series of episodes since there are quite many irrelevant and superfluous scenes, though most of them contribute to the broader and clearer picture of the lives of the characters. The novel focuses primarily on Tom’s development of intellectual behaviours, from a carefree and childish attitude to a responsible matured one. Moreover, the major adventure, that is, the murder that the two young boys witness and its consequences; provides the readers with a single event that starts from the graveyard and runs through the entire plot of smaller adventures. The relevance of the locations in the story is what makes it more interesting and real-like. For example the Jackson’s Island in Tom Sawyer, is actually an island which is located south of town in the vicinity of the river. The cave where Injun Joe lived exists to date; same goes with the houses of Aunt Polly and Widow Douglas. (Rasmussen 96) The beauty of Mark Twain’s stories is that he has not confined himself in telling simple children stories, instead he has always added up a bit of satires on the weaknesses of human nature. He has often commented on the irrationality of human nature in his writings. In Tom Sawyer, he seems satisfied with the mild admonition about the nature of the human beings. The author pointed out that a man can be forced to do anything which is given to him as a challenge; this has been depicted in the scene when Tom tricks the other boys in painting the fence for him. Twain has also commented on the society by the adults’ reaction on Injun Joe and his wickedness. The adults of the town try to fill petitions in order to save Joe from punishment who was actually a murderer. He has kept condemning the adult attitudes throughout the story. That is where the conflict starts: the maturation of a young boy (Tom) into an adult which conflicts with the behaviours and attitudes of his adults. It is this vision and wisdom of the author that makes the novel more than just an adventure story. In short, Mark Twain’s work has not only been an inspiration for the young writers, but it also adds up to the classic English Literature which is loved by all ages. Works Cited Rasmussen, R K. Critical Companion to Mark Twain: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work. New York: Facts on File, 2007. Print. Twain, Mark. The Writings of Mark Twain. New York: Harper, 1899. Print. Read More