Well, I did enjoy this book. It was a "nice little story" and the end really made it for me.
My favorite line is the HUGE one in the Whisper to the Reader, followed by "He told me so himself".
My copy has an afterword by Mark Twain and he explains that he didn't "wrap" things up well with Rowena. So one thought he had was to start one of the later chapters with "Rowena went out in the backyard after supper to see the fireworks and fell down the well and got drowned". Interesting.
I was bothered that Wilson didn't seem to have any or much income. Perhaps he had some "old family money" but that was never mentioned.
I chuckled over the F.F.V. and maintaining "honor". A bit of that might be nice now days.
Plus, I thought there were many times that Roxy should have slapped her kid up the side of the head!! And why she was willing to be sold down river is beyond me.
I REALLY liked the quotes from Wilson's calendar. My favorites (most chuckles) were Chapter 15 - "watch that basket" and Chapter 17 concerning July 4th.
I guess I am old school and of the old reading method, but I like chapters to be named, not just numbered. I find after I read a chapter I go back and re-read the title to see why it was named the way it was. This just may be my thing (I'm really into names, like the names of colors, right Ang?). I like the way Twain names chapters and in some of his books, he even names the pages. Makes for a nice index and easy to refer back to things.
I wonder how this book was reviewed when it was written...
I also enjoyed this book, in fact, I think it is my favorite Mark Twain book thus far.
My favorite parts were the excerpts from Pudd'nhead's calendar, especially the first one for Chapter XIII, Tom Stares at Ruin, "When I reflect upon the number of disagreeable people who I know have gone to a better world, I am moved to lead a different life." I have had this thought myself! I also really liked the July 4th quote.
I also wondered why Roxy didn't slap her kid up side the head. Why she ever bothered to help him out, let alone as many times as she did, is beyond me. I think of that saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Maybe this isn't the case for mothers, but still? After your child sells you down the river, would you come back and help him again?
I am on your side about naming chapters. For one, it makes it much easier to remember which chapter you've ended on if you misplaced your bookmark or it fell out of the book. Secondly, it is a nice preview. I like reading the back of the movie right before I watch it so I know what I am going to see; I read the back cover of the book right before reading it. I like to have at least an idea what is going to happen and the chapter titles do that for me.
It interests me the way Twain portrays the African Americans. Sometimes he shows them as being just like the whites (for example when Roxy tells her son that all mothers are the same inside) while at other times he shows them as being lesser, at least according to the characters (for example when Roxy is saying that the fact her son is evil must be the "nigger" in him). The whole tone of the book feels sympathetic to the plight of the slave, while there is nothing explicitly stated to support this feeling (please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't remember any part that is explicitly against slavery).
I also wondered how this was received at the time. I've actually never heard about until you chose it, Joy, but now I'm really glad I read it and plan on keeping it on the shelves for rereading down the road. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
I'm about halfway through and have a sneaking suspicion that I've read this somewhere before. Does Tom end up having a child who is black, then burns all his wife's things, only to find out it's his ancestry showing in his child? Or maybe that's another story. Regardless, I'm quite enjoying it, and like M find the most humor in the calendar quotes.
Joy, did you notice that one of them was quoted word for word by Frank Burns in M*A*S*H? I think it's in the epiisode entitled "Bulletin Board." =)
This book really surprised me in that I thought that it would try to prove that nurture is stronger than nature. To some extent it did, I guess, as the Judge lamented "I have indulged him to his hurt, instead of training him up severely, and making a man of him" in chapter 14. But I really expected a larger overall comment on race being unimportant relative to upbringing. Though, after the multiple attempts to show how much more valiant the real Tom was than the real Chambers as they were growing up, maybe Twain was arguing for nature instead of nurture. I still haven't made up my mind!
I agree that the Rowena story line was bit choppy. It seemed like all the sudden she was in a relationship with "Tom" in the middle of the book, as he kept mentioning her as his solace, but then nothing more ever came of her. I expected her to at least be mentioned at the trial.
Getting away from the social undertones, I really enjoyed how the plot came together in a fairly concise way. I was waiting the entire book for Wilson to mach up those fingerprints, and it was a good anticipation. I liked how we were mislead (or at least I was) into thinking that "Tom" was having an affair with the mysterious woman in his room. I also delight in a little foreshadowing, and "Tom" stabbing "Chambers" for saving him from drowning made it for me.
I agree that Roxy should have slapped him around a little, but I think she was just so desperate to prove (to herslf) that her own sone was inherently good that she fell into the same over indulging as the Judge. I find myself wondering what became of Roxy's realationship with "Chambers" - I find it slightly out of character that she wouldn't turn to the "son" she raised for the little help he may have given her. Indeed, the status of their relationship is never mentioned. Looking in depth at her life, I can see why she would be so willing to help "Tom." She has no family, no husband, a bastard child, can't read, and her life savings is lost. No place to live, and her only hope for survival is squeezing money from a cowardly son that she essentially gave up for adoption so that he could have a better life. People will do desperate things to hang on to a glimmer of hope.
I liked the kind of Pygmalion theme with "Chambers" at the end, how he couldn't fit in to white society because of his speech and mannerisms. I wish that had been given more than a little blurb.
Forgot to add that I liked having named chapters too, it makes it easier for me to go back and find quotes or pieces that I want to re-read. ------------------------
My copy of the book includes some literary reviews and I'll share the ones from 1894 here, as you both mentioned wondering how it was received in its day.
Martha Williams wrote in Southern Magazine: [Twain's] much-advertised serial is tremendously stupid. If it were nothing more, the reading, even the critical, world could afford to receive it in the charity of silence, remembering the merry heart it has had these twenty years past whenever it pleased Mr. Clemens to amuse it. "Pudd'nhead Wilson" is more than stupid. So far as it has appeared - to the end of the second installment, that is - it is at once malicious and misleading. (1894)
William Alden wrote in The Idler: "Pudd'nhead Wilson," Mark Twain's latest story, is the work of a novelist, rather than of a "funny man." There is plenty of humor in it of the genuine Mark Twain brand, but it is as a carefully painted picture of life in a Mississippi town in the days of slavery that its chief merit lies. (1894)
T. M. Parrot wrote in The Booklover's Magazine: "Pudd'nhead Wilson" is a tragedy, but a very sordid one. There is no trace left of the light-hearted gaiety of "Tom Sawyer" and very little of the genial hummanity of "Huckleberry Finn." On the contrary the book is marked by a strong dash of cynicism. ... It is, perhaps, the result of this bitter mood that there is no one figure in the book capable of arresting and retaining our sympathies. Had anyone but Mark Twain written such a book it would no doubt have been more generally recognized as the grave and powerful piece of art it is. (1904)
Since one of my complaints is almost always about the cover, I also wanted to mention that a cover artist finally got the art right for this book! You can see the art from my copy here:
My Dover edition had a TERRIBLE cover. Some cartoonish man with a gigantic nose. While I love to read the back of books, I am almost always disappointed by the cover art and think it should be banned. Just tell me the title of the book on a blank background!
I think the book is nurture over nature. Irresponsible upbringing produces irresponsible brat (hence Tom).
This book was produced in installments, so I wonder if Twain wrote it in installments (which could explain some trailing patterns with the plot) or if he wrote it as a book and it was printed in installments. I think the former.
Screw stupid Martha Williams. Does anybody now know who SHE IS?
My cover has 3 guys on the front, I think it is in reference to the beginning of the story in how Puddn'head got his name.
10 comments:
Well, I did enjoy this book. It was a "nice little story" and the end really made it for me.
My favorite line is the HUGE one in the Whisper to the Reader, followed by "He told me so himself".
My copy has an afterword by Mark Twain and he explains that he didn't "wrap" things up well with Rowena. So one thought he had was to start one of the later chapters with "Rowena went out in the backyard after supper to see the fireworks and fell down the well and got drowned". Interesting.
I was bothered that Wilson didn't seem to have any or much income. Perhaps he had some "old family money" but that was never mentioned.
I chuckled over the F.F.V. and maintaining "honor". A bit of that might be nice now days.
Plus, I thought there were many times that Roxy should have slapped her kid up the side of the head!! And why she was willing to be sold down river is beyond me.
I REALLY liked the quotes from Wilson's calendar. My favorites (most chuckles) were Chapter 15 - "watch that basket" and Chapter 17 concerning July 4th.
I guess I am old school and of the old reading method, but I like chapters to be named, not just numbered. I find after I read a chapter I go back and re-read the title to see why it was named the way it was. This just may be my thing (I'm really into names, like the names of colors, right Ang?). I like the way Twain names chapters and in some of his books, he even names the pages. Makes for a nice index and easy to refer back to things.
I wonder how this book was reviewed when it was written...
I also enjoyed this book, in fact, I think it is my favorite Mark Twain book thus far.
My favorite parts were the excerpts from Pudd'nhead's calendar, especially the first one for Chapter XIII, Tom Stares at Ruin, "When I reflect upon the number of disagreeable people who I know have gone to a better world, I am moved to lead a different life." I have had this thought myself! I also really liked the July 4th quote.
I also wondered why Roxy didn't slap her kid up side the head. Why she ever bothered to help him out, let alone as many times as she did, is beyond me. I think of that saying, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Maybe this isn't the case for mothers, but still? After your child sells you down the river, would you come back and help him again?
I am on your side about naming chapters. For one, it makes it much easier to remember which chapter you've ended on if you misplaced your bookmark or it fell out of the book. Secondly, it is a nice preview. I like reading the back of the movie right before I watch it so I know what I am going to see; I read the back cover of the book right before reading it. I like to have at least an idea what is going to happen and the chapter titles do that for me.
It interests me the way Twain portrays the African Americans. Sometimes he shows them as being just like the whites (for example when Roxy tells her son that all mothers are the same inside) while at other times he shows them as being lesser, at least according to the characters (for example when Roxy is saying that the fact her son is evil must be the "nigger" in him). The whole tone of the book feels sympathetic to the plight of the slave, while there is nothing explicitly stated to support this feeling (please correct me if I am wrong, but I don't remember any part that is explicitly against slavery).
I also wondered how this was received at the time. I've actually never heard about until you chose it, Joy, but now I'm really glad I read it and plan on keeping it on the shelves for rereading down the road. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
I'm about halfway through and have a sneaking suspicion that I've read this somewhere before. Does Tom end up having a child who is black, then burns all his wife's things, only to find out it's his ancestry showing in his child? Or maybe that's another story.
Regardless, I'm quite enjoying it, and like M find the most humor in the calendar quotes.
Joy, did you notice that one of them was quoted word for word by Frank Burns in M*A*S*H? I think it's in the epiisode entitled "Bulletin Board." =)
You're thinking of a different story Ang.
Is it the quote about training in chapter 5?
Nope - it's the one about friendship at the beginning of chapter 8.
This book really surprised me in that I thought that it would try to prove that nurture is stronger than nature. To some extent it did, I guess, as the Judge lamented "I have indulged him to his hurt, instead of training him up severely, and making a man of him" in chapter 14. But I really expected a larger overall comment on race being unimportant relative to upbringing. Though, after the multiple attempts to show how much more valiant the real Tom was than the real Chambers as they were growing up, maybe Twain was arguing for nature instead of nurture. I still haven't made up my mind!
I agree that the Rowena story line was bit choppy. It seemed like all the sudden she was in a relationship with "Tom" in the middle of the book, as he kept mentioning her as his solace, but then nothing more ever came of her. I expected her to at least be mentioned at the trial.
Getting away from the social undertones, I really enjoyed how the plot came together in a fairly concise way. I was waiting the entire book for Wilson to mach up those fingerprints, and it was a good anticipation. I liked how we were mislead (or at least I was) into thinking that "Tom" was having an affair with the mysterious woman in his room. I also delight in a little foreshadowing, and "Tom" stabbing "Chambers" for saving him from drowning made it for me.
I agree that Roxy should have slapped him around a little, but I think she was just so desperate to prove (to herslf) that her own sone was inherently good that she fell into the same over indulging as the Judge. I find myself wondering what became of Roxy's realationship with "Chambers" - I find it slightly out of character that she wouldn't turn to the "son" she raised for the little help he may have given her. Indeed, the status of their relationship is never mentioned. Looking in depth at her life, I can see why she would be so willing to help "Tom." She has no family, no husband, a bastard child, can't read, and her life savings is lost. No place to live, and her only hope for survival is squeezing money from a cowardly son that she essentially gave up for adoption so that he could have a better life. People will do desperate things to hang on to a glimmer of hope.
I liked the kind of Pygmalion theme with "Chambers" at the end, how he couldn't fit in to white society because of his speech and mannerisms. I wish that had been given more than a little blurb.
Thanks for the great choice, Joy!
Forgot to add that I liked having named chapters too, it makes it easier for me to go back and find quotes or pieces that I want to re-read.
------------------------
My copy of the book includes some literary reviews and I'll share the ones from 1894 here, as you both mentioned wondering how it was received in its day.
Martha Williams wrote in Southern Magazine:
[Twain's] much-advertised serial is tremendously stupid. If it were nothing more, the reading, even the critical, world could afford to receive it in the charity of silence, remembering the merry heart it has had these twenty years past whenever it pleased Mr. Clemens to amuse it. "Pudd'nhead Wilson" is more than stupid. So far as it has appeared - to the end of the second installment, that is - it is at once malicious and misleading. (1894)
William Alden wrote in The Idler:
"Pudd'nhead Wilson," Mark Twain's latest story, is the work of a novelist, rather than of a "funny man." There is plenty of humor in it of the genuine Mark Twain brand, but it is as a carefully painted picture of life in a Mississippi town in the days of slavery that its chief merit lies. (1894)
T. M. Parrot wrote in The Booklover's Magazine:
"Pudd'nhead Wilson" is a tragedy, but a very sordid one. There is no trace left of the light-hearted gaiety of "Tom Sawyer" and very little of the genial hummanity of "Huckleberry Finn." On the contrary the book is marked by a strong dash of cynicism. ... It is, perhaps, the result of this bitter mood that there is no one figure in the book capable of arresting and retaining our sympathies.
Had anyone but Mark Twain written such a book it would no doubt have been more generally recognized as the grave and powerful piece of art it is. (1904)
That being said, I completely agree with Parrot.
Since one of my complaints is almost always about the cover, I also wanted to mention that a cover artist finally got the art right for this book! You can see the art from my copy here:
http://www.simonandschuster.net/assets/isbn/0743487788/C_0743487788.jpg
And now I think I'm done posting.
My Dover edition had a TERRIBLE cover. Some cartoonish man with a gigantic nose. While I love to read the back of books, I am almost always disappointed by the cover art and think it should be banned. Just tell me the title of the book on a blank background!
I think the book is nurture over nature. Irresponsible upbringing produces irresponsible brat (hence Tom).
This book was produced in installments, so I wonder if Twain wrote it in installments (which could explain some trailing patterns with the plot) or if he wrote it as a book and it was printed in installments. I think the former.
Screw stupid Martha Williams. Does anybody now know who SHE IS?
My cover has 3 guys on the front, I think it is in reference to the beginning of the story in how Puddn'head got his name.
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