Puddn'head Wilson Revisited

More than any other we have read thus far, Puddn'head Wilson makes me think. Despite having read it, reread passages, and seeing clips from the movie, I am still curious about what it is that Mark Twain is trying to say. I do not feel as though I have closure at the end of the story. I can appreciate that effect because I think it is a sign that the story is well-written and engaging. However, it is rather bothersome that it will not leave my mind.

I think that the way that Twain incorporates racial issues is much more subtle in Puddn'head Wilson than in Huckleberry Finn. I think that the additional exploration of gender issues and gender as performative complicates the issue of race. Chambers and Tom also perform race in the same way gender is performed. Though Puddn'head Wilson's quote, "training is everything," flavors the entire story, I cannot help but question the ways in which Twain is problematizing concepts of race and gender as essentialist.

For the most part, the townspeople represent the larger social dynamic of Twain's day. The idea that a gentleman occurs through "good breeding" was prevalent. Likewise, a person as white as Roxy was believed to be a slave just because of a tiny amount of Black blood in her ancestry. "Tom" (Chambers) is brought up as a gentleman, but he grows up to be irresponsible, rash, selfish, and deadly. Meanwhile "Chambers" (Tom) was raised like a slave, but is meek, modest, polite, and patient. I think that "Chambers'" character fits the model for "training is everything" more than "Tom." Chambers was a faithful, dutiful slave to Tom because that is what he was raised to be. When he found out that he was a "gentleman," he could not automatically come to embody the education and social formalities that that role entails. He felt estranged by his new identity and place in life. For him, his "training" defines who he is.

Tom complicates this argument because Twain is trying to make a second argument with his character. While Tom's training does shape who he is in that a slave would not be expected to act out with the kind of agency Tom shows, Tom does not fulfill the role of "gentleman." Judge indicates that he never was able to reform Tom to fit the role he desired for him, the role of a gentleman. Through Tom's character (and even the Judge's violent nature) Twain is questioning those thing that make a man a "gentleman." For example, a duel is considered chivalrous, but it is only ritualized brutality. At first the reader is lead to believe that Tom's (Chambers') tiny bit of Black blood has prevented him from learning to become a gentleman, but then Twain debunks many of the aspects of what makes a gentleman to show that Tom's behavior was really not so uncommon even among the gentry. Even after Roxy reveals that she is really Tom's mother, which makes him a slave, Chambers continues to act the part of "Tom." This emphasizes the aspect of social roles being performative. Tom shows that gender roles can be acted out as well through cross-dressing.

But Twain also points out through Roxy's character that the ability to change roles does not hold true across the board. As a "gentleman," Tom is at the top of the social ladder. He can become a woman or a slave. However, Roxy cannot perform anything but a slave despite her appearance. Likewise, the real Tom cannot perform the role of "gentleman," because he began as a slave.

I am still intrigued with this story!