Messages from Nature in Pudd'nhead Wilson by Michael R. Allen Though scholars have primarily focused study of Pudd’nhead Wilson on the novel’s messages of race and identity, Mark Twain wrote into it an examination of scientific values versus natural values. Much of the book concerns itself with the title character’s methods of detection, and in the character of Pudd’nhead Wilson the reader finds a strong critique of scientific positivism. In the …showed first 75 words of 1349 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1349 total…world outside of himself, or lose the chance to be free. It is thus human society’s relationship to the laws of nature as much as American slavery that is being criticized by Mark Twain in Pudd’nhead Wilson. Works Cited Porter, Carolyn. “Roxana’s Plot.” Mark Twain: A Collection of Critical Essays. Eric J. Sundquist, ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1994. Twain, Mark. The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson. 1894. New York: Signet Classic, 1964.