Ch. 4-7 Overview:
As a critique of Social Darwinism, what specific quotes can you point to that might show/explain/reveal Twain’s satire, or criticism of this belief?
These chapters make two suggestions: first, that one’s friend can be crueler than one’s enemy (pp. 39) and that the powerful are able to escape chastisement (pp. 39). Do you agree? Why or why not?
Ch. 4
How did “nurture” instead of nature create Tom’s negative personality?
How did the time period add to the environmental influences on Tom?
What is it about teething, the terrible two’s, and the way white people “help” children in this time that forms their character forever?
Ch. 5
Look at p. 38, the chapter that starts with “Tom’s Eastern polish…” .
How does this paragraph reveal irony within the community and an elevated sense of self that Tom has.
How does the Widow Cooper’s reaction to the letter from the twins asking to take her room, reveal small town mentality? (both positive and negative)
Ch. 6
How are the twins successes of Social Darwinism? (look at p. 43)
Ch. 7
How do you think the calendar phrase about lies has anything to do with the young woman Pudd’nhead sees? Make a prediction based on word choices (p. 48-49).
Calendar
Lastly, go back through the calendar excerpts at the beg. of each chapter (1-7). And discuss its possible meaning…
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One’s friend can be crueler than one’s enemy:
ReplyDelete- Tom and Chambers were brought up as brothers but Tom, being higher in “power” since the two were switched has not treated Chambers respectfully, but as his slave, although the two could still be considered best friends
The powerful are able to escape chastisement:
- Because the powerful hold the power, they can get themselves out of verbal punishment and/or abuse.
- Tom does this because Chambers is there, as Tom sees it, to take Tom’s mistakes as his own. If chambers doesn’t cooperate, then he is punished by Tom because he is the slave and “must” take care of his mater
Chap 4:
- Because he was brought up as better than Chambers – brought up as the master – Tom was treated with more respect and materialistic love than Chambers, giving him a sense of power. By cause and effect, such “better treatment” causes Tom to take advantage of being a master and become a bad/negative person
-Time period:
- The time period added to Tom’s influences because he lived in a small town where it was okay to treat people the way he did. Because he had not yet seen the big, outside world, he hadn’t the proper knowledge of his ways, forcing him to be a worse person.
-Teething:
- The quote at the beginning of chapter four opens for the rest of the chapter showing how the relationship between Tom and Chambers will continue to negatively grow throughout their lives.
- Teething, the terrible two’s and the treatment of whites towards children. Ever since Tom and Chambers began teething and hit the terrible twos, they were each treated differently. When Chambers wasn’t allowed to cry while teething and throw tantrums, Tom was allowed to because he was white. This causes Tom to think he can get away with anything the rest of his life
Chap 5:
- Irony:
o When Tom came home from Yale, people had realized that his clothing had changed to make him look of a higher class than he already was. The gloves were a symbol of status, almost like anything he touched would get him dirty unless he had the gloves on, which would never be acceptable. More irony was that he was nicer when he came back. I think this is because he realized he wasn’t as tough as he thought he was when he lived in a small town, so his attitude changed
- Small Town and the Widow:
o Because foreigners were coming which is very rare in a small town, the widow’s reaction was perfect for a small town. Her and her family acted like they had the boys all to themselves. They mentioned how they could touch and talk while others simply had to look upon such a rare moment. Willingly bringing strangers into her home and making sure the whole town knew that special visitors were in town showed a sense of small town pride in Widow Cooper.
Chap 6:
- Social Darwinism
o The Twins pretty much represent a social example of survival of the fittest because as they lost their family and hope, they picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and made something of themselves, helping them to reach a high in a social status of sorts
Chap 7:
- Calendar Phrase:
o The lies in the calendar phrase show in the chapter because as everyone thinks that Driscoll is a true and honest man, some random girl was in his room, dancing around under a veil in a summer dress. As a web of lies may have been tangled in this mess, Driscoll can’t fix it once one has been found because the web will come undone, showing that a lie has one life while a cat has nine.