THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
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| THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER , By Mark Twain |
Book Summary
The Prince and the Beggar tell the story of two boys who once exchanged clothes and therefore their lives. After many adventures, things turn around again, as one of the boys resumes his royal position and the other boy assumes a position recognizing his innate intelligence and goodness.
One of these boys is the long-awaited heir to the throne of England, Edward Tudor, son of Henry VIII, and the other boy is Tom Canty, the unloved son of a beggar and thief. . Luckily, Tom Kante and Edward Tudor were born on the same day in London.
Tom Kante's life at Offal Court on Pudding Lane is tough in one of London's poorest areas. His father forces him to beg every day, and if he comes back empty-handed, he is badly beaten. However, Father Andrew relieves him a bit of this life by telling him stories about nobles while teaching him good manners, reading, writing and Latin. Tom Kante appreciates these stories, which tell of a much better life, and experiences them in fantastic ways in his daydreams.
One day his musings took him out of London, past the mansions of the rich and finally to Westminster, where he saw Edward Tudor playing on the other side of the fence. At the same time, Prince Tom noticed when he saw a soldier pull the boy violently away from the fence; The prince scolds the soldier and invites Tom to the palace. Each of the boys is fascinated by the other's lives - Tom by Edward's luxury and cleanliness, and Edward by Tom's freedom. To get a "feel" for each other's life, they swap clothes and find that they are very similar.
When the prince discovers a bruise on Tom's hand, he rushes out of the palace, regardless of his clothes, to reprimand the guard. The guard believes the prince is the beggar and quickly brings him out of the gates, clearing the way for Edward Tudor to live the life of a citizen and Tom Canty to live the life of a real prince.
Sovereign and enraged, declaring himself Prince of Wales, several dogs laughed at him and beat them and attacked the crowd around the royal gate; While he claims to be the king's son. After Edward is driven to London, he wanders around not knowing where to go until he is finally captured by John Canty, Tom's father, and dragged to the Oval Court.
Meanwhile, young Tom Kanté was left in the prince's royal apartment at the palace. At first he values the well-being of those around him, but is increasingly worried about what will happen to him if he finds out that he is dressed as a prince. Mrs. Jane Gray spoke to him and was very confused about Tom's behaviour; Soon the news spread that the prince was insane. Every time Tom tries to say something to dispel this idea, those around him become more convinced that the Prince has indeed gone crazy.
After speaking to his "son", Henry VIII gave his orders: first the Duke of Norfolk ordered the killing so that the prince could be appointed heir immediately and without resistance. Secondly, he orders all those present at the court not to say anything about the prince's madness and to ignore any hint of him. Eventually he ordered his "son" to stop saying he lives at Offal Court and to try to regain his sanity. To this end, Lord St. John and Lord Hertford should be his companions, watching over him and reminding him of what to do.
The first party Tom has to go through is dinner. Although he is often mistaken, his behavior is careless. Then he finds a book on English court etiquette and begins to find his way around his new position. His next ordeal is Dinner in the City in London, at which he and his entourage arrive in great splendor along the Thames.
The scene then briefly shifts to the Prince of Wales, who is now in the hands of John Kanté. He is taken to the filthy room in which Cantis lives and is shown to show the neighborhood his crazy delusion that he is the Prince of Wales; Then he was beaten for not bringing any money home.
Late that night, someone woke up the Kanti family to tell them that the man John Kanti had hit his club while driving home his "son" had died. Everyone leaves at once, Kanté has the Prince in tow. However, the prince managed to escape from the old Kanti.
While Tom dines with the nobles and watches dinner, the real prince stands outside Guildhall trying to enter and confirms that he is the real Prince of Wales. The mob laughed at him and would have hit him hard if it hadn't been for Miles Hendon suddenly showing up and protecting him. As Prince and Hendon fight outside with the crowds and the nobles have fun in the Guildhall, the messenger brings news of the death of Henry VIII. Frees Norfolk.
Meanwhile, Hendon leads the prince through the crowds to his accommodation at an inn on London Bridge, which was then a city in its own right. However, John Kanté intercepted them and attempted to kidnap the prince, whom he still believed to be his son, but Hendon sent him away. In Hendon's apartments, the prince fulfills his usual role and expects Hendon to serve him; Hendon does so without objection. As a reward for his help and kindness, Hendon was given the right to sit in the presence of the king and became a knight.
In the morning, while the prince is still sleeping, Hendon goes out to buy new clothes for the boy. Upon his return, however, the prince is gone, attracted to a boy who is then followed by an evil man on his way to Southwark. Although Hendon tries to follow him, he loses track.
Tom Kante woke up that morning, got dressed and fed him; Then Lord Hertford led him to the Throne Room, where he had to endure many boring reports on the affairs of state. Although Tom learns to cope with such situations, Lord Hertford prevents him from making many fatal mistakes. In the afternoon, Tom uses an interview with Humphrey Marlowe, "The Skin Boy", to learn a lot of things he needs to know; From now on, Tom takes every opportunity to learn and remember important royal matters.
The next two days are similar to the first, and Tom gets more used to what he's doing. But on the fourth day, the noise of the crowd distracted Tom. He looked out the window, asked why and, after hearing about the problem, led the three convicts past him. By skillfully questioning them and decisively speaking out on their judgments, he is admired by all present; His court is also starting to question the alleged rumors about his insanity. With the new confidence his actions have given him, Tom eats the State Dinner, in front of anyone who wants to watch, carefree and without mistakes.
Meanwhile, the Prince is lured into an old country barn by John Kanté and his partner Hugo. He sleeps on a haystack and when he wakes up he hears many stories of injustice under the law. Indignant, he declared that such laws should be repealed. This, combined with his claim to be the King of England, makes him mock the band of vagabonds who join Kanti and Hugo. The prince is forced to travel with these vagabonds, yet refuses to take part in their adventures and finally manages to escape from Hugo's custody when he tells a man that Hugo is a thief. Then he wanders alone through the countryside, being hunted when he asks for food or rest, until he finally finds an empty barn. That night, the prince sleeps beside a calf and is awakened by two young children who believe in his story about his royal claim and bring him to their mother. The woman feeds him and lets him do the various household chores. While working, he saw Kante and Hugo arriving in front of the house and escaping into the woods. There he sets off until he reaches a hermit's hut. A truly mad hermit feeds and takes care of the boy, but when he hears that the boy is the King of England, son of Henry VIII, he seizes revenge; He ties the Prince and is about to put a knife in him when Miles Hendon arrives at the door. The hermit manages to keep Hendon away, but his absence allows John Canty and Hugo to take the Prince away.
Hugo again attempts to entrap the prince into beggary and robbery; However, the prince categorically refuses to get involved in such activities. So Hugo decides to bring the prince back into the hands of the judiciary, which he does by picking up a bundle, throwing it into the prince's arms and running away. Enough to show the guilt to the assembled audience, and the most powerful of them are about to strike Prince when Miles Hendon appears again. To please the crowd, Miles and the Prince must appear before a judge. The judge is beautiful and the sentence is short. Hendon was then able to convince the mayor that it would be wise to free the boy, and the two chiefs at Hendon Hall, where Miles had been absent for ten years.
When they get there, Miles' brother Hugh, and Lady Edith, who Miles once loved, deny that Miles is still alive. In fact, Hugh Hendon has Miles arrested as a con man and the Prince is imprisoned with him. There the Prince learns about the unsanitary conditions in his country's prisons and learns more stories about the many injustices of English law. After all, Miles was sentenced to two hours in the pulpit; It also requires twelve lashes when a prince tries to assert himself again. When they were finally released, they returned to London.
Coincidentally, when the Prince returns to London, Tom Kante quickly learns how to become king and prepares for his coronation. On his coronation day, he set out in a grand procession through London. When he passes the court of sacrificial droppings, he sees his mother and denies her knowledge; However, he immediately regretted it.
The party begins. Then suddenly, as the Archbishop of Canterbury is about to crown Tom, the real prince comes forward and stops him. Tom confirms the boy's assertion. Several inconclusive tests are attempted to identify the young and eventually the location of the Great Seal of England has been suggested. With a few spurs from Tom, Edward Tudor told Lord St. John where to find the seal, thus proving his true claim to the throne of England.
When Miles Hendon, estranged from the prince, appears outside Westminster, he is captured and brought before the newly crowned King. After believing the boy was crazy during their travels together, Hendon can't believe his young friend who is now on the throne is the same person. To test it, he raised a chair and sat down in her presence; Edward claims Miles' right to do so and also claims he made Hendon a knight, and Hendon is now one of England's colleagues, the Earl of Kent. Tom Canty later became "the king's wing" and his sisters and mother were cared for for life at Christ Hospital.
The final chapter connects the ends of the plot: Hugh Hendon, although not prosecuted, leaves England and travels to the Continent; Lady Edith marries Miles; Edward severely rewarded those who were his homeland, punished those who did not, and made amends for those who suffered the cruel injustice of English law. During his short life and reign, Edward Tudor always remembers his adventures and reigns through them with greater mercy.
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