A Character Analysis of Tom Driscoll
In Pudd’nhead Wilson by Mark Twain, the story of two boys, who were switched at early childhood, is told. One of these boys, Tom Driscoll, displays many characteristics in the novel. Tom shows how he is rude and a liar, but he also exhibits his ability to change his ways.
From his childhood to his later years, it was evident that Tom Driscoll was a rude character. For example, during his childhood, Tom and Chambers (the boy with whom Tom was switched with and who was also Tom’s slave) always went an “played” together. On such instance was when they went swimming with Tom’s friends and were diving off of canoes. Chambers was an excellent diver, however, Tom could not dive for it gave him splitting headaches. And for this reason (Chambers could do something that Tom could not do), Tom pushed the canoe under Chambers as he was in a mid-air dive. The result was that Chambers was unconscious and Tom’s spirit was gratified. Later on, when they were about fifteen, the boys were swimming in the river as usual, Tom fell ill to a cramp in the water and Chambers saved his life. Instead of being grateful to Chambers and thanking him, Tom said that “anybody but a blockheaded nigger would have known he was funning and left him [Tom] alone” (23). Furthermore, after Tom had gone to college (Yale) and returned back to Dawson’s Landing, he still carried this trait. This was evident when he was h...
When Myrtle and Tom get into an argument, Tom unleashes his violent side by slapping his mistress in the face, causing her to break her nose. (Fitzgerald 39) This does not negatively influence their relationship and the two continue to openly see each other. Tom happens to also be the one who investigates Gatsby’s past once he begins the relationship with Daisy: his education and the source of his money. The reason for Tom’s inspection is to expose Gatsby’s past and illegal life, and inform Daisy of his negative thoughts on Gatsby. Additionally, Tom makes his dominance noticeable through his wealth and social status, with the use of racism: "I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife. Well, if that's the idea you can count me out […] Nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions, and next they'll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white." (229), believing that he is better than everybody else, coming from a rich aristocratic background; he believes superiority is in his blood. This fuels his main source of power that he exudes within society. Tom is very honest about his affair with Myrtle to his own wife. But, he doesn’t grasp the concept of morality; he is hypocritical, accusing his wife for her affair with Gatsby, but still proceeding with his
Krakauer, Jon. “Into the Wild”. New York: Anchor Books, a division of Random House Inc, 1996. Print.
Each individual come to the point where they question the purpose of their life. In today’s century, most people find the pursuit of happiness through money and a successful career making those as the most important thing in their life. In the book of Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild, the protagonist in the story, Christopher Johnson McCandless, a smart young man who graduated from Emory University, who hated materialism in life and could not find happiness in the society where he exist. Believing that nature will provide him the truth, he pursues a journey to the wild in search of solitude in life. Wanting to prove that there are more life to live, he connected with the nature to find his true self. In achieving his journey, he depended on the
Jon Krakauer is an author and mountaineer of American birth. He is mostly known for his writings involving outdoors, and primarily mountain climbing. Krakauer wrote Into The Wild, Into Thin Air, Under the Banner of Heaven, and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat.
In the first few chapters of the book, we can already see just how spoiled Tom becomes due to his indulgent lifestyle. While Chambers is being fed “mush and milk,” Tom is being spooned “delicacies” with no limits (Twain 17). This leads Tom to always getting what he wants and bullying those who don’t comply to his rules. Although I might have thought this pampered lifestyle would fashion Tom into a strong and credible young man, much like a prince grows into the leader of a kingdom, it ended up ruining him into a weak and almost sickly child, with a character to match. Because Tom was always being ushered his life on a silver platter without lifting a finger, he later develops into someone who is unable to look after himself and solve his own problems. Later on in the book, we can most clearly see the effect of Tom’s upbringing onto himself after Roxy admits to Tom his true herita...
In today’s modern society, people tend to focus on material goods and follow the standards of social behavior. American writer Henry David Thoreau thought otherwise and left society to live in deliberate solitude in the woods for a couple years. Similar transcendentalist beliefs of Henry David Thoreau were shown through Chris McCandless’s journey in Jon Krakauer’s Into The Wild. Chris McCandless decided to abandon his wealthy parents after graduating Emory University with honors. He donated all of his savings and left behind most of his material possessions. Much like Henry David Thoreau, Chris McCandless embarked into the Alaskan wilderness alone to live his new life in nature. Throughout his journey, Chris McCandless embodied transcendentalism
Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer is a telling account of the journey of Chris McCandless who traversed the western side of the United States until he perished from starvation in the Alaskan Wilderness. McCandless was a very free soul. Between college he would always take trips away from his home in Virginia to explore what was the unthinkable. Once he had finished his education at Emory with stellar grades, he disappeared. Dropping contact with his family was common, so many saw no immediate trouble
Tom Wingfield is a determined young man. He has decided against everyone else in his family's wishes that he wants to leave the dismal life of a factory job, to pursue a chance in the Merchant Marines. He realizes that he would be running off like his father and this is probably the only thing that kept him from leaving this long. Amanda, Tom's mother, deep down knows the day is coming that Tom will leave. She says "But not till there's someone to take your place." She wants Laura, if not herself to be taken care of. At that moment in the play Tom is the breadwinner in the family and up to this point Tom is the underpriviledged child that wants to move on. He wants to pursue his dream, a more adventurous life. Tom was a likable character until we find out he didn't pay the electric bill with the intended money. When Jim is over and he says "I paid my dues this month, instead of the light bill". At this point, Tom becomes a more selfish character. There is less sympathy given in his direction. In fact, this is probably where we feel a little more sorry for Amanda.
To think so highly of himself when a stranger on the street simply asked him for directions. He thought to himself, “I was a guide, a pathfinder, an original settler. He had casually conferred on me the freedom of the neighborhood.” (2) Then to be so timid in front of others. He basically let Tom drag him around the whole night and when regarding Mrs. Baker he states, “If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it—indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in.” (4) He spoke little and seemed to just listen and agree with the
1894: segregation laws are being formed, racial tensions are high, and signs of the gap between blacks and whites are everywhere. Against this backdrop, The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson is published as a novel. Almost two decades after slavery has been outlawed and two years before the historic Plessy vs. Ferguson case declares segregation legal, Mark Twain takes a stand against the widely accepted belief of white superiority. Twain portrays blacks as equal to whites as he argues that regardless of race, love blinds people to the truth. At a time when whites were generally viewed as superior to blacks in all regards, Twain advocates racial equality by making all characters susceptible to poor judgement because of love. Furthermore, Twain questions
Chris McCandless was a very unique individual. In Jon Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, he tries his best to make sense of McCandless’ journey to the Alaskan wilderness. However, he never really figured out what McCandless’ purpose of the trip was. Looking at McCandless’ life throughout the book, I believe that Chris McCandless went on his journey to find happiness within his own life and did achieve it in the end.
Mark Twain is world renowned for his authentic portrayal of southern dialect. Twain’s phonetic spelling of words, such as “genuwyne” rather than “genuine” and “swaller” instead of “swallow,” communicated the southern way of speech of his diverse characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain 54-78). He breathed life into his characters and gave them personality through his style and word choice. For example, Aunt Polly’s diction differed significantly from that of Huck Finn’s, and this hinted at the education, age, and gender of each character. Variations in the dialogue of characters and narration evoked a wide range of emotions as well as completed the imagery of each character and scenario. Additionally, the language of each character was kept consistent, realistic, and natural. Twain’s convincing prose distinguished him from the decorous authors of that time who wrote with acute formality.
Tom Sawyer, a mischievous, brave, and daring boy that goes through adventures in love, murder, and treasure. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is about a boy maturing from a whimsical troublemaker into a caring young man. In the "conclusion" Mark Twain writes, "It being strictly a history of a boy, it must stop here; the story could not go much farther without becoming a history of a man" Tom is now maturing throughout a span of adventures in love, treasure, and everyday life that make him more of an adult, then a boy.
...and bad, right and wrong, danger and friend. His moral growth is contrasted to the character of Tom Sawyer, who justifies his disgraceful and possible destructive concern on the prejudice of slavery or the brutality of separating that weaken the American dream.
Tom believes that, “it’s up to us, who are the dominant race, to watch out or these other races will have control of things” (Fitzgerald 13). Tom suggests that the “dominant race” is not only white men, but also white men who have “old money.” The thought of “other races… having control” is terrifying to Tom. His elite status would be challenged if other races successfully demanded more rights and more equality. He wants the “dominant race” to stay in power, and will do everything he can to prevent “other” people from achieving the status quo. The Handicapper General is also frightened by the abilities of “other” people. She put stronger handicaps on people who are different or individual because she is conscious of their potential. Tom is also extremely angry with Gatsby for trying to take his wife away from him. He says, “certainly not for a common swindler who’d have to steal the ring he put on her finger” (Fitzgerald 133). Tom considers Gatsby to be in a group of people called “new money,” which Tom looks down on. He also knows that Gatsby earned his money in a shady way, which is one reason that he dislikes people who are not in the so-called “dominant race.” Tom implies that if Gatsby marries Daisy, the “ring” he buys her will be “stolen,” which suggests getting acquired by doing something illegal. The fact that someone is stealing his wife enrages him, but how he is losing her to a “common swindler” really infuriates him. This shows why Tom feels threatened by “common