Pudd’Nhead Wilson Theme

A persistent news report throughout Puddnhead Wilson is reputation versus nature. This covers the social issues of individualism and reputation in a broader sense than piece of music versus man. post twain does not lean towards one side more than the other, however. Racial distinctions be a major topic discussed in this story. This contributes to the other themes of honor and betrayal.. Mark duo was able to discuss many complex themes in this story.I rely that one of the most persistent themes in Puddnhead Wilson is nature versus nature, rather than man versus man. This is because rather than focusing on how men interact with other men, Twain asks why they act a certain way. What determines a persons identity? What do they inherit from their surrounding environments? Tension between nature and nurture is most clearly seen in the character of tom turkey Driscoll. Tom was raised as a rich, spoiled kid. He eventu wholey grows to compose a lazy, untrustworthy man.These characte ristics were said to come from his inherited slave qualities, which shows how racial distinctions play a part in this theme. There is a beautiful, brainy woman in Puddnhead Wilson named Roxy, who appears to be white. However, due to a tiny share of her blood being black, she is condemned to a life of thraldom. But she is incredibly cute and could be very successful. The racial classification is seen through the switching of babies.Roxys baby is destined to a life of slavery while her keep downs son, Tom, is guaranteed fortune and luxury his whole life. Honor and betrayal is seen specifically when Tom gets himself into trouble with gambling debts. Roxy is willing to make a great sacrifice for her son. She murderered to forfeit her freedom and to be sold back into slavery in order to raise enough money to pay off Toms debt. Twain portrays Roxy as an honorable woman by emphasizing on how she- a slave- is willing to sacrifice for Tom- a fortunate, corruptible man.She asks two th ings of him by making this sacrifice that she is sold up sexual union and that he buys her back a year later. Tom expresses gratitude for his mother, but is readily to betray her. The theme of man versus man could not cover the complexity of the themes in Puddnhead Wilson. Nature versus nature is a major theme in the story. This includes racial distinctions and other social issues. Honor and betrayal is another theme revealed in Puddnhead Wilson. Twain did an excellent job at weaving all these themes together in this story.