The prince and the pouper

These chapters, as a unit, present an obvious but rather interesting contrast. Chapter 4, for
example, shows the prince dressed as a pauper confronting a cruel world that has no respect for
him, and it ends with the prince being considered stark, raving mad. The following chapter
presents the contrast of the pauper, Tom, in the role of the prince and, likewise, being
considered mad — royally mad!

The prince's troubles in the real world are caused by the mere fact that he considers himself a
prince, despite his being dressed as a pauper. The boys whom he approaches at Christ's Hospital
treat him, at first, with laughter, until he insists the he is the prince; then he is treated with
derision, and the more that he insists that he is the Prince of Wales, the more rude his treatment
becomes until, ultimately, he is beaten, and dogs are set on him. The prince is finally discovered
by John Canty, who believes the lad to be his own errant son, and even though old John
considers his son to be mad, he still subjects him to a beating. Thus the real world that the
Prince of Wales dreamed about is not at all like the world he imagined.

In contrast, Tom's dreams have all come true. He has, indeed, become a prince, a prince like the
ones he dreamed about, but the reality of his situation is not nearly as pleasant as his dreams of
old were. In particular, Tom is frightened that at any moment he will be discovered and
punished for wearing the prince's royal clothing. Surprisingly, nothing that he does can convince
the royal court that he is not the real prince, for he looks like the prince and he is dressed like
the prince. And when the king asks Tom a question in Latin, Tom is able to respond to the
question in Latin; this test proves that Tom is indeed the Prince of Wales; no pauper could
possibly know Latin! Looking backward, we now see why Mark Twain had Father Andrew teach
Tom some Latin. This "mad scene" is emphasized, satirically and ironically, by Twain because
the heir to the throne of England is considered mad — and yet, in spite of his being "mad," it is
decided that he must be installed as heir apparent immediately. In addition, Tom overhears that
in order for him to be installed as heir apparent, the Duke of Norfolk must be put to death
immediately. This injustice will soon be corrected, however, for as soon as Tom becomes King of
England, his first act will be to countermand the order