The true treachery of Tom and his selfishness is shown towards the end of the novel by Mark Twain which is Pudd nhead and Wilson. In the chapters before the closing of the story, Tom was very much willing to sell his own mother so that he can raise enough funds as payment for all his debts. He is even considering to harm or even be ready to kill the one who adopted him after the death of his father and treated him like his own son.
That benefactor was Judge Driscoll and after Tom killed him, there were no traces of remorse or regret on his face for what he had just done.Tom also permitted innocent men to be imprisoned for a crime that he has committed and showed no emotion at all. Those innocent men were Angelo and Luig who were charged for the murder of Judge Driscoll. It is the arrogance of Tom that caused his downfall. He saw the weak point of the case of Wilson. He taunted Pudd'nhead for it.
He went to the house of Wilson to rub it in his face. His hand proved to be his deadliest enemy as his fingerprint was the last evidence needed to solve the crime and proven him guilty.The theme of nature versus nurture is also evident in Twain's novel. What type of person will an individual become and how is it determined? Is environment a factor or are there innate characteristics that are existing in the individual? The tension that is present between forces of nature and nurture is most evident in Tom.
Ever since his adoption, Tom was a spoiled child and went on later in his life as a dishonest and lazy adult. The flawed character of Tom is a result of his innate qualities of being a slave or black person.His own mother vouches for this statement that Tom's heritage has made him into a coward that he is. Using the nurture point of view, Tom's characteristics was due to his upbringing as a child because he was indeed a spoiled brat and was overindulged by his adoptive father. At such a tender age, Tom's every whim and desire was satisfied.
He has this sense of entitlement that that was instilled in him. When he became an adult, making an honest living by getting a decent job was beneath him.Tom was so used to getting what he wanted as a child that when he grew up and was of right mind and age, he feels that he is entitled even then to just get what he wants no matter what the cost and whether or not that something that he wanted belongs to him. The stance of Twain in these arguments can be said that he is in favor of nature over the argument of nature. Twain does not believe that it is inherent in African Americans to be lazy and dishonest. For him, the black slaves were forced to steal from their white masters because it was just an act of rebellion to their slavery and oppression.
Tom's behavioral patterns was as a result of his upbringing and the world in which he was raised. Although unknowingly having black roots himself, Tom shows signs of having extreme prejudice against the black race. He even discriminated against his own mother who is unknown to him. Tom is used to gambling until he has burdened himself with debt. This habit of gambling was a reflection of his wealthy and luxurious upbringing.
He makes endless plans in order to keep his inheritance and pay for his way of life in which he has become so accustomed to. After the conviction of Tom for murder, he was sold as a slave as payment for his debts.Status and wealth don't make a person. It is also clear from the story that genetics also do not make a man. Twain created a situation in the story in which a black child is is brought up in riches and perceived to be white and the white child was brought up as a black child.
The ancient debate of nature versus nurture is approached by Twain in this story. Whether it is the innate or genetically-based qualities or the exposure to the environment that will determine the personality of the individual has been of great interest in the literary world. Questions would arise from the story that will examine the cause of his sadistic attitude.Is it his environment or his genes that shaped his personality? The readers are free to answer this question for themselves when they analyze the story (Twain 2005).
The terms of nature and nurture are used to as reference for the roles that genetics and environment play in human development. The nature theory of human behavior states that people behave according predispositions that are hereditary and may even be described as instincts like that of animals. The nurture theory states that people behave and think in certain ways because it was instilled in them to do so.Although nature has endowed us with innate qualities but it is nurture that takes these predispositions and shapes them into what people turn out to be when they grow, mature and learn new things. Human behavior can be conditioned in a certain environment. Like Tom who was brought up in a different environment although he was naturally a slave, his behavior was not attributed to his nature as a person of black heritage.
The way Tom was raised in a wealthy household shaped his behavior and personality while he was still a child. He was highly accustomed to wealth and into getting what he wanted all the time.He applied that same behavior as an adult. His behavior was indeed a product of his environment which is an environment not natural to him as a black person. He enjoyed the life of a master and not a slave as what his life should be since he has a black natural mother. As the son of the master of the house, he enjoyed certain privileges that are reserved for the wealthy and opulent.
He had the kind of life that was not rightfully his. Advocates of the nature theory have insisted that Tom behaved the way he did because it was innate or inherent in black people to be dishonest and lazy.Black people during that period were labeled or stereotyped as this because the whites have observed this behavior in the slaves that they own and generalize them to be like that. However, as further examination will show, this stereotyped and racist point of view is not the case because the slaves rebelled against their masters and resorted to stealing as a means to oppose the oppression that befell on them. It really is not in their nature to be dishonest people.
This generalization is just a racist point of view or a wrong interpretation of a certain circumstance.It is wrong to attribute Tom's behavior to this generalization. A person's natural abilities pertain to his reflexes, skills and instincts that he will unconsciously use in response to a certain situation. An example of this would be if a large and dangerous object is being thrown at person's direction, he would instinctively duck in order to avoid being hit by that object.
This is also true for the a person's survival skills when he is alone in an island. He will know from instinct what to do in order to survive. These innate abilities may not be necessarily characteristics that are common in a particular race.The development of Tom as a child, was very different from the world where he originated.
He was the son of a slave and yet he lived the life of a master because of the switch that his mother had made when he was still a baby. As children grow, their development is also rapid. Children must be taught on how they should act and talk. They need to be taught a lot of things before they can do things by themselves. Therefore, they do not have the innate qualities of being a person nor have they any dormant knowledge on how to act like one.
If the child is taught good behavior in his environment, then he will most probably acquire that good behavior when he grows up. A child would not know that he is a child without telling him that he is. He won't know the good from the bad if no one has taught him how. Therefore his personal experience and environment will heavily influence the child as he grows into an adult. This is what happened to Tom. Refuting the nature theory, people may have common characteristics because they are shaped by their culture, traditions and ways of life, all of which are the environments that they are exposed to and grown up with.
Like the black people who were mostly slaves at that time, they have the common activity of rebelling against their masters as a way to express their protest against the tyranny and oppression that they experience. This doesn't mean that all black people are going to be thieves. They are just victims of unfortunate circumstances. Even if Tom showed dishonesty and laziness, it isn't right to conclude that it is in his nature to behave like that because of his race. He was lazy because he didn't want to find a job because he thought that it was not in his character and status to do so.He was used to a wealthy life and resorted to dishonesty to support his standard of living and status.
It was upbringing or nurture that truly made the person that he is as an adult. The conditioned environment of a wealthy lifestyle was ingrained in him as a young child. As an adult, he displayed what he perceived to be correct and proper behavior. His actions were the result of a certain lifestyle that overindulged him as a young person.
What is conditioned in the mind to be true and correct will also be the same regardless of the stage in a person's life.
