Detective Aspects of Pudd'nhead Wilson

In these pages you will find the annotated texts of Chapters 19, 20, 21, and Conclusion of Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson.  My intention with these pages is to provide insight into why Twain chose to emphasize the detective aspect of the novel and how his use of the detective theme compares to traditional detective novels.

Detective novels, particularly Sherlock Holmes, were quite popular during the time that Twain was writing Pudd'nhead Wilson and likely influenced his choices in writing the theme into Pudd'nhead.  John Whitley of the University of Sussex explains the standard use of the detective plot in his essay, "Pudd'nhead Wilson: Mark Twain and the Limits of Detection."  Whitley writes, "the detective must be an 'exceptional individual who is himself in a state of grace' and where the plot roughly follows the pattern: 'Peaceful state before murder -- false clues -- solution -- arrest of murderer -- peaceful state after arrest'" (61-62).  The key to understanding Pudd'nhead is that Twain does not follow the standard use of the detective plot.  He does set up Wilson has having extraordinary powers of observation hidden under his eccentricities, but the plot diverges significantly from the pattern laid out by Whitley.  The town does indeed start in a peaceful state, and false clues are rampant throughout the prefacing burglaries and following the actual murder (see annotated text).  The plot of Pudd'nhead also proceeds nicely through the standard reveal and arrest of the murderer, but there are two marked differences present in Pudd'nhead.  The first is that the reader knows who the murderer is, and exactly how the task was accomplished.  The only remaining mystery is whether Wilson's extraordinary powers will be enough to solve the mystery before the wrong suspect is hanged.  The second is that the town does not return to an entirely peaceful state following the murder. 

Bucking the traditional plot line of the novels may be Twain's way of not only poking fun at the detective theme, but also pointing out that the trouble in Dawson's Landing did not start with Tom and the murder and will not end with Tom's arrest.  Dawson's Landing is a town with slavery as an accepted situation, and Twain seems to see it as an archaic and arbitrary classification.  When it is discovered that Tom and Valet were switched as infants, the townsfolk seem much more concerned with the idea that "negro" has been impersonating a white man than the fact that "Tom" murdered Judge Driscoll.  The end, effectively tosses aside the detective plot to emphasize the ridiculousness of classifying people by racial heritage rather than individual worth.

See Explanation of Method.

Proceed to annotated Chapter 19.

View Castle vs Pudd'nhead Slideshow.

For more information on Mark Twain and Pudd'nhead Wilson, check out the links in the Sidebar.