The Townspeople of Dawson's Landing

At the very end of the novel, the inhabitants of Dawson’s Landing come right out and proclaim what Twain implied throughout the novel: David Wilson isn’t the pudd’nhead of the town– they are. We talked in class about the concept of “getting” a joke, and how that can draw a line between the seemingly intelligent and the seemingly unintelligent. I find it interesting how black and white the townspeople’s opinions are– just like the stark contrast between getting a joke and not getting it– but how at the same time, their opinions are comically swayable.

If the townspeople all had a single, clear cut opinion on one thing, they might seem a bit dull but would at least remain consistent. Part of the humor of the novel is the way facts get distorted and exaggerated, and the townspeople appear to be at the root of the distortion and exaggeration. They exaggerate the initial confusion over Wilson’s joke to the point that it creates a twenty year long reputation; they adore the twins at first, but one rumor from Tom and they immediately turn wholeheartedly against the foreigners. Upon Wilson’s fingerprinting evidence at the trial of the twins, they abandon their hatred of the twins and switch it instead to Tom. The townspeople act as a single, fickle entity that changes its mind on a dime and acts as if it never thought any other way– even when it was solidly standing with the opposite camp not a day before.

The other characters could hold their place in a more serious novel: Tom is a truly despicable figure, Wilson a sympathetic one, and Roxana a strong one. The townspeople lend the story much of its humor, albeit from their place in the background.