Twain's popular novel chronicles the adventures of two young
boys, a Prince and a Pauper, who exchange roles and stations in life. Each boy
has strong misconceptions of what the other boys life is like and series of
educational and entertaining adventures play out as the boys grow more
comfortable in both their real and assumed roles in life. Mark Twain's Prince
and the Pauper is a popular story and a classic from American Literature.
The novel opens with the announcement of the birth of Tom
Canty, a pauper, and Edward Tudor, the Prince of Wales. The two boys grow up in
different surroundings and are unaware of each other's existence. Tom lives in
Offal Court, one of the poorest localities of London, where his drunken father
forces him to beg in the streets. However, he finds time to learn Latin and
read the books of Father Andrew. The old legends and histories he reads haunt
his mind, and he starts visualizing himself as the prince. One day, after
wandering about the streets, he walks towards the royal palace. The guards,
catching him gaping through the gates, accost him, but the prince comes to the
boy's rescue. He takes Tom to his chambers and inquires about his family. When
Tom expresses a desire to wear princely clothes, he and the boy exchange their
clothes. The striking resemblance between them surprises the two boys. Then, on
an impulse, Edward storms out of his room to punish the sentinel who had
behaved rudely with Tom. The guard mistakes him for Tom and pushes him out of
the gate. The prince is thus thrown into the harsh world outside.
Edward experiences exhaustion and hunger as he walks through
the streets of London. When he reaches Offal Court. John Canty apprehends him
and, mistaking him for his son, gives him a beating. Father Andrew comes to
rescue the boy from Canty's onslaughts and is struck by Canty. When Canty
learns that Father Andrew is dying from his blow, he flees London with Edward
in his grasp. It is the eve of a long procession down the Thames and ceremony
at the Guildhall in honor of Tom, however, and, in the confusion, Edward escapes.
Edward heads for the Guildhall, which he reaches as Tom is being honored there.
The guards and crowds jeer him when he calls himself the prince and are about
to attack him when Miles Hendon appears on the scene and rescues him.
In the meantime, the courtiers believe that Tom is Edward,
and when the boy tries asserts his true identity, they dub him as mad. Tom is
then taken to meet Henry VIII. When the boy fails to recognize the king, Henry
VIII also expresses doubts about the sanity of the boy and advises him to relax
his mind. Tom is thus forced to play the part of the prince. Slowly, he gets
acquainted with the norms of the palace and reconciles himself to his
situation. After the king's death, he feels the burden of responsibility on his
head, but starts playing his role in earnest. He gives orders for the release
of Duke of Norfolk, whom his father had condemned to death, and pardons several
prisoners. The public appreciates his benevolent acts and cheer his wisdom and
mercy.
Miles Hendon does not believe Edward's declaration that he
is the prince, but takes pity on the boy, who he believes to be mad. He takes
Edward to his lodgings, planning to bring him home to his father's estate, to
which he is returning after a long absence. While he is out, however, John
Canty and his associates kidnap Edward.
Edward is made to live among vagabonds and ruffians. He
deplores their behavior, but learns that many of these petty criminals are the
victims of the unjust and harsh laws of England. One day, he is sent to beg
with Hugo, a young member of the band. When Hugo tries to cheat a passerby out
of his money, Edward exposes his deceit and makes his escape. That night he
takes shelter in the barn of a peasant. The next morning, he is found by the
peasant family. Although the children believe Edward, the mother does not; she
asks him numerous questions and has him perform various household chores in
order to test his identity. When John Canty approaches the house, Edward
escapes, and next takes shelter in the house of a mad hermit. The hermit tries
to kill the boy, but before he can lay hands on him, John Canty and Hugo arrive
and carry him away.
Once again, Hugo tries to make the Prince Participate in
begging and thieving; the prince however, steadfastly refuses to have anything
to do with such activities. Hugo therefore decides to put the prince into the
hands of the law, which he accomplishes by snatching a bundle, thrusting it
into the prince's arms, and dashing away. The appearance of guilt is enough for
the crowd that gathers, and the burliest of them is about to beat the prince
when Miles Hendon once again appears. To appease the crowd, Miles and the
prince must go before the magistrate. The judge is kindly, and the sentence is
short. Hendon then manages to convince the sheriff that the wisest course would
be to free the boy, and the two leave, headed toward Hendon Hall, from which
Miles has been absent for some ten years.
When they arrive there, Miles's brother Hugh and the Lady
Edith, who once loved Miles, deny that Miles is still alive. In fact, Hugh
Hendon has Miles arrested as an impostor, and the prince is taken to jail along
with him. There, the prince discovers the filthy conditions of his country's
prisons, and he hears more stories about the many injustices of English laws.
Finally, Miles is sentenced to sit two hours in the pillory; he also takes
twelve lashes because the prince once again tries to assert himself. When the
two are released at last, they turn back toward London.
Coincidentally, as the prince is returning to London, Tom
Canty is rapidly learning to be a king and is preparing for his coronation. On
Coronation Day, he rides in a grand procession through London. Riding past
Offal Court, he sees his mother, and he denies knowing her; immediately,
however, he is stricken with remorse.
The ceremony begins; then, suddenly, just as the Archbishop
of Canterbury is about to place the crown on Tom's head, the real prince steps
forward and forbids it. Tom affirms the boy's claim. Several inconclusive tests
are tried in order to determine the identity of the boys, and finally the
location of the Great Seal of England is suggested. With some prompting from
Tom, Edward Tudor tells the Lord St. John where the seal is to be found, thus
establishing his true right to the throne of England.
When Miles Hendon, who has been separated from the prince,
appears outside Westminster, he is arrested and brought before the newly
crowned king. Having believed throughout their travels together that the boy
was mad, Hendon cannot believe that his young friend, now on the throne, is the
same person. To test him, he pulls up a chair and sits in his presence; Edward
affirms Miles's right to do so, and he also affirms that he has made Hendon a
knight and that, furthermore, Hendon is now a peer of England, Earl of Kent.
Later, Tom Canty is made the "King's Ward," and his sisters and his
mother are granted lifetime care at Christ's Hospital.
The last chapter ties up loose ends of the plot: Hugh
Hendon, though not prosecuted, leaves England and goes to the Continent; the
Lady Edith marries Miles; Edward amply rewards those who were land to him,
punishes those who were not, and makes reparations to those who suffered from
the cruel injustice of English laws. Throughout his short life and reign,
Edward Tudor always remembers his adventures and reigns more mercifully because
of them.
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