The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

These chapters provide several insights into the author's view of social structures, class distinctions, and human behavior. Twain begins to probe the conflict between nature and nurture: Are we who we are because we are born that way, or because of how we are raised? One of the justifications for slavery in America was that Black people are born lazy, insolent, and in need of white guidance, yet Twain often creates Black characters who are far superior, in terms of their morality and behavior, than their white counterparts. The switching of Tom and Chambers provides a unique opportunity for Twain to delve into the nature versus nurture argument.

Tom Driscoll is a loathsome character, a difficult baby who becomes a mean-spirited, snobbish, dishonest adult. In the argument over which affects a person's character more, nature or nurture, Twain leans heavily on nurture with Tom, explaining how Tom is indulged from infancy, deferred to by his mother, and spoiled in every way. It is no surprise, then, that Tom becomes a bully, as well as an object of scorn for the local boys. Tom resents Chambers for defending him, and stabs Chambers, which is a foreshadowing of what Tom will do to Judge Driscoll, who, like Chambers, gives Tom numerous chances to redeem himself and behave in a respectable way.

Chambers, on the other hand, is perpetually relegated to second place. Roxy speaks curtly to him, Tom treats him with derision, and Chambers is left to deal with Tom's hand me downs and boorish behavior every day of his young life. Despite all of this, Chambers protects Tom, and has a character that is superior to Tom's in every way. Chambers is an argument for nature, and the idea that a person is born with an essential set of personal attributes or failings that he or she retains throughout life. But Chambers is also a commentary on slavery, and the fact that, while they may possess a superior character to their white owners, slaves were forced to continually suffer simply because they were born Black.

The fascination the people of Dawson's Landing have with Angelo and Luigi is another classic Twain social commentary. Whether the Capello twins are being honest about their backstories is left for the reader to decide; it is enough for the people of Dawson's Landing that the twins are European, which makes them inherently fascinating and admirable. In 19th century America, this pull of the "Old World," the class structures and customs of Europe and England, contrasts sharply with the new American ideal of the self-made man who values independence, egalitarianism, and unbounded possibilities above all else. Angelo and Luigi are the Old World, and thus hold a fascination for the "New World" of Missouri, which, during Twain's lifetime, was the westernmost frontier of the United States.

Twain uses hyperbolic comparisons and religious language to express the joy Rowena and Patsy feel from their association with the twins, leaving the reader in no doubt about the author's opinion of such social considerations, which emphasize appearance over substance and value the very thing the earliest Americans were trying to escape in Europe.