Complex Social/Racial Commentary in Twain

After completing train's work, I decided to provide some of my closing thoughts on the debate over whether racist leanings of Twain are exposed in the text. The short answer is that I absolutely do not believe that. The long answer...

Mark Twain is so widely known for his anti-racist commentary that I am implored to see this as one of the prevailing themes of Pudd’nhead Wilson, but the problematic conclusion complicates this reading. Finally, the white man formerly known as “Chambers” gains status as a full citizen and a white man. This produces a complicating factor for his character: in this text, we are drawn as readers to feel a sense of justice in that Tom, the real Tom, has “White” status. However, 21st-century society conditions us to acknowledge the fact that it shouldn’t matter what his status is. Isn’t a person a person?

From Chambers’ perspective, his sudden realization of white privilege becomes awkward; here is a character who is not up to speed with the cultural expectations of a white heir to a large sum of money (166). In a way, this supports the ongoing “nurture” side of the argument. Though the real Tom is certainly a better person than his changeling counterpart, his slave upbringing has denied him the social wherewithal to adapt to the environment that dictates he immediately become cultured.

Meanwhile, and perhaps most shockingly, we observe the fate of the despicable character that the real Chambers turned out to be. Is it really just that he gets sold down the river? Let’s look at his strikes against him:

1) Personality: he’s a gambling, snooty, awful person and we as readers immediately wish the worst for him, right?
2). He killed the man who he grew up believing to be his uncle.
3). He was an irrepressible burglar and conniver, not a virtuous character at all.

So… it is just that he be sentenced to prison, so is it also just that he be sold down the river? This gets to the heart of the trickier elements of Twain’s craft; while we may wish the worst for this character, if we support the end that he came to, we also implicitly support slavery in a way. While I believe that Twain had this in mind in writing this complex social commentary, these points definitely lead me to understand how so much controversy and debate simultaneously enshroud and enshrine the work.