KidLit Forum

SILVIA HORJ

This historical satire is Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. It is played out in two different worlds of 16th-century England. It centres around the lives of two boys born in London on the same day: Edward, Prince of Wales and Tom Canty, a street beggar. Through his adventure, the Prince learn about the unjust laws and I think that for a future king is better to live in the rough existence of thieves and beggars.

The theme which is shown throughout the novel is that society assumes that clothes make the man and judge people based on appearance rather than their personality. Tom Canty takes the prince's place. Everyone thinks he is the actual Prince of Wales because he wears the clothes and has the same face as Edward. A quote to support this is,"...I am no lord but only poor Tom Canty of Offal Court in the city.” No one believes him because he is dressed as the king, so they feel that "The prince hath gone mad, the prince hath gone mad!’ Edward is a pauper now as was Tom, living in poverty with no food and a father who beats him. He was wearing Tom's dirty clothes, and Tom's father believed it was Tom. This adventure gives us a portrait of England in the 16th century. I think that if the great people of this world had this experience, they would probably change their way of acting and thinking.
This historical fiction classic by Mark Twain teaches a lesson about being yourself. I enjoyed the moral of the story. This ironic tale still is very true today because most politicians are cut off from common people.