th men, Twain expands upon his pronounced support for nature by warning of socially constructed nature. The class system of Dawsons Landing, and slavery in general, is nothing more than an attempt by powerful men to thwart the freedom people should be born into. That this system endures, even after the events of Puddnhead Wilson, displays at least a tacit belief in social determinism on the narrators part. This outlook is deeply pessimistic, especially after other portions of the story exalt the power of natural forces. If social forces can successfully overpower natural forces, no person can receive the messages from beyond his intellect -- messages that reveal truths higher than man can show himself. The warning offered here is that a social institution that runs counter to the original free state of man, like slavery, is nearly impossible to end. Once it is initiated, such an institution will subvert all human nature to its own ends, until lives are socially determined by the systems requirements rather than by the natural endowments and instincts of each person. Puddnhead Wilson asserts the necessity of nature in human life, and tells of the sad fate of a world that blocks the influence of the natural. In the limits of Wilsons scientific method, the reader sees that nature guides human life, and not vice versa. However, the book ominously concludes with a passage that concedes that social determinism is what the world can expect if nature is not heeded. The novel asks man to listen to the world outside of himself, or lose the chance to be free. It is thus human societys relationship to the laws of nature as much as American slavery that is being criticized by Mark Twain in Puddnhead Wilson. Works Cited Porter, Carolyn. Roxanas Plot. Mark Twain: A Collection of Critical Essays. Eric J. Sundquist, ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Princeton UP, 1994. Twain, Mark. The Tragedy of Puddnhead Wilson. 1894. New York: Signet Classic, 1964. ...
