KidLit Forum

It is clear that in this book the element of difference is represented by the social position, social inequality. Besides these well known themes, the author presents the human qualities that overcome these differences. One major theme is the problem of identity and wealth. There come various questions that have to be answered such as what makes a person prince or pauper?Clothes, social position, birth, wealth?The book does not seem to have an obvious answer to this problem. On one side we have two identical boys, born on the same day and with the same psysical characteristics. But, on the other side, when seen by society, they are fundamentally different. Tom is perceived by the majority as an unwanted child, a street boy without any value, whereas Edward is perceived as a noble child, wanted and protected by his parents.It seems that appearances, wealth and social position gain peopleʼs respect. Moreover, when they exchange roles, their new status is not noticed by the majority. I expected that after this situation the difference would be turned into an equality. But to my surprize the big difference still exists. Tom is treated for his apparent insanity with lot of care whereas Edward is beaten. It seems that they were predestined to a cetain fate and they can never really switch roles. As minority, Tom and Edward are defined by external conditions and wealth not by their true value. Here comes the problem of appearance; the two boys being perceived according to their clothes, wealth not their internal feelings.

What I found very interesting is the fact that being a prince or a pauper is not neceesarily related to a certain sum of money. Each class has a certain set of rules in which you have to adapt in order to survive. For Edward it was very hard to adapt to a new life because of lack of money, family, care, but also for Tom was a difficut period even if he had lots of privileges. Tom had to learn new rules that are specific to different social classes.

As my colleague mentioned above, the story of the Prince and the Pauper is about the social differences (which still exist in our time). What is very ambiguous in this book is the author's attitude toward this issue. Reading the first chapters of the book you have the feeling that the author is on the side of the pour (describing Tom's hard life with many details and mocking the luxurious life of the king), but surprisingly, at the end the author decides to reveal that Tom is not the king Edward and to restore the real king. Was it necessary? I think not, because I believe that each person is capable to rule, you no need to belong to a royal family in order to rule. Tom was described as a smart boy, who was able to learn Greek and Latin, but he was not capable to learn those specific customs. And I think that this is author's objection, why he didn't keep Tom as king: he didn't have a noble behavior and he couldn't accustom with them. "Once more he felt the sense of captivity heavy upon him!"

As everybody knows the story of "the Prince and the Pauper" something else got into my mind similar to our story....I think of some of my students who have everything they wanted, but they lack all the qualities that would humanize them in one way or another...and I see others that don't have a thing the others do, but they are respectful, intelligent, good mannered, kind...and they do study a lot because they know only this way they can escape the modest living they have...and one day I told a class..."What would you say if one day you went home and your parents prepared you a non-salted, non tasty food...What would your reaction be? And as an answer to the reason they did that to say they will prepare you a 10 mark food, when you'll take 10 at school, instead, until this will happen, they would deprive you of the right of having a mobile phone, i-phone, laptop, computer,bike, going out,....When I told this to their parents, they said it would be quite difficult to do that, and they said they try to offer them everything because they didn't had it when they were children....but they don't understand that they can do worse than good by offering them everything...

...then I felt so sorry for some of them that they were born in that family....and I sometimes wonder wht would happen to some children born in rich families if one day they would wake up in a poor one...would their future be the same???????I think not...Would it be a lesson for them(as in "The Prince and The Pauper") to become better persons and realise how to care for the things they have and others don't...???? Maybe for some of them wouldn't count....and maybe some are predestinated to be rich...and some to be poor...or... Is it true that we make our own fate....

...the parents have of course their part of guilt in everything their child is....because nobody is born mean...even if they have the mean genes they can be educated in the good way...

The Prince and The Pauper by Mark Twain presents the role play of the prince and the pauper. It is interesting to observe how the two of them adapt and embrace the new role and the situations they must face. For the prince is difficult to adapt to the miserable situation where he is beaten, forced to beg and his life is in danger. Because of his royal attitude the others consider him a fool laughs of him and don't trust his words. I think that the prince must face the ugly part of the society in order to understand better his people and the poor people which many time were sentenced to death without a right judgment. The pauper on another hand seems to adapt better than the prince. He pretended to be a prince before while playing in his miserable neighborhood. The priest used to tell him and his sister stories which enrich their childhood. The stories were the only happiness which made him forget for a while his miserable condition. One and another were perceived as mental disordered because the knowledge and manners a real prince should have lacked in Tom. He knew little Latin which the priest taught him but Greek was a foreign language for him. He didn't know what to say or how to react. He used the royal seal to crack nuts with it. He had no idea about the politics and specific rules but instead had a good heart. He knew he was an impostor and many time wanted to confess. The prince on another hand considered himself abandoned and mistrusted Tom. He was afraid of losing his royal position and the possibility to return back to the palace. The sentence 'I am the prince ' was repeated many time in order to convince the audience. Only children seems to believe the real prince. In their innocence they don't consider him mad and don't rush to judge. Eventually the roles are switched again and each of them regain their initial position. There are some changes after the experiences they had. Tom remains a confident of the prince till the end of his death and the judgment of the prince is more profound after he was in a pauper' shoes. His perspective toward life changed radically. He lost something of the superficiality which used to characterize him.

In my opinion clothes are very important in this novel, they aren't just things the characters wear, they represent who they are. On the one hand Tom gets treated like a prince because he's dressed like one and on the other hand Edward is treated like a pauper because he's wearing Tom's rags.
Even if the first thought that came into my mind when I first read the title was that this story could be about two boys and their life but than I found out how cruel and unjust was life in England between the rich and the poor. When I read about that luxurious parties, that the King spent money while people were starving in the streets, I felt sorrow.

Twain never used his 'God-given, natural sense of right and wrong written on his heart and conscience' to take an unpopular stand on the issue of slavery or rights for black people. And he couldn't make Huck Finn do it, either. If Huck never really took a stand against society - if he could say near the end of the novel, after determining to set Jim free that 'no one was hurt; killed a nigger' - then clearly he never questioned society's treatment of blacks, their slavery and degradation at the hands of whites...

The first time I've read this story was at the age of 11. Back then I've seen this story through a child's point of view: two boys trading lives and eventually returning to their own lives after many adventures.
Now, I've seen it from another perspective. Every day we bump on beggars in the street and we glare them with contempt, we see them as cold and incompetent...However, Tom Canty, the beggar boy who reaches in a royal position, proves us that we shouldn't judge someone only by appearances.
Despite his miserable life, his father used to tell him stories about the noble people and he was aware that learning Latin, reading and writing would do no harm to the boy. All these knowledge made Tom's life easier as a prince, but at some point he couldn't stand all the mistreatment that was done to the people. Even if he knows that returning to his old life means to face again all kind of hardships, he'll gladly return to his own life. This is the proof that a poor boy like Tom can face great challenges without major problems, meanwhile, for Edward, the real Prince, this experience was traumatizing as all the time when he was in Tom's "shoes" he feared for his life.
Conclusion: " Don't judge a book by it's cover!"

From my point of view the book illustrates the social differences between the rich and the poor. It is a liitle bit sad to know that all the poor children from that time had suffered a lot because of the society. There was a big difference between the rich and the poor. The rich lived like they were in heaven and the poor lived in horrible conditions. Tom Canty did not take advantage of the prince when he went to the castle, he did not try to steal his place, in fact he confessed to the king and to the other servants that he is not the real Edward, that he is in fact Tom, just a poor kid. We could compare Tom with Oliver Twist because they had a similar live, they were both very poor but never hurt someone. This proves that they have a moral education. It is not necessarily to be rich to have education. I think that some people are born good and some people are born evil. It is true that some people become evil become because of the society, but I think that those people are unable to ignore the other’s critiques.
So, I think that Tom Canty is an example for all children and even for all of us. In this book he showed us that the Good always wins.