Let's be honest: slavery is one of those unpleasant subjects we'd probably rather not think too much about were we given a choice. But the story of Pudd'nhead Wilson is so wild and wonderful (in our humble opinion) that we can't help but get wrapped up in the dramas of characters for which slavery was a huge part of life. Not to mention that this is hardly your typical tale of slave life. In this novel, a child is born a black slave, becomes a white slaveholder, and then ends up a black slave again. Yes, you read that right. No surprise, such a unique tale is going to offer a whole lot of unique insights about slavery that you won't want to miss.
Questions About Slavery
- How are slaves and slavery depicted in this novel? What does the baby-switching incident, in particular, reveal about slavery?
- Some might say Pudd'nhead Wilson is an anti-slavery novel because it exposes many of slavery's evils and injustices. But the novel was published long after slavery ended. Why do you think this is? What insights about slavery does the novel offer that could be important to Twain's late nineteenth-century or even contemporary readers?
- Why is the threat of being sold down the river emphasized so much throughout the story?
Chew on This
Pudd'nhead Wilson undermines a belief prevalent both before and after the Civil War that slavery wasn't such a bad thing after all.
For a novel that appears to critique slavery, Pudd'nhead Wilson presents a pretty unflattering and unsympathetic portrait of blacks.