MARK TWAIN’S CRITICISM ON
THE ENGLISH NOBLES’ LIFE IN THE 16
THCENTURY IN
THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER
A Thesis
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education
By
Ria Prasetya
Student Number: 03 1214 104
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
Statement of Work’s Originality
I honestly declare that this thesis which I wrote does not contain the works or part of the works of other people, except those cited in the quotations and bibliography, as a scientific paper should.
Yogyakarta, August 13th, 2007 The writer
Ria Prasetya
“Is life worth living? This is a question for an
embryo, not a man.”
Samuel Butler (1835-1902) British writer, painter, and musician
“Lif
e
is
n
ot a burden that makes us feel that
we have to struggle because of it. But, Life is a
bless
i
ng
that
we have to struggle for it.”
Pras
I dedicated this thesis to everybody who
struggles in search of truth for their life and others.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my Lord Jesus Christ for His great blessing, His guidance, His protection and His will, all the things that I need in my life so that I can pass every moment of my life nicely. He has given me love, strength and spirit through the people surrounds me. He also has given me strength and spirit so I can finish my thesis. Without His blessing I could never have finished my thesis.
I would like to express my great gratitude to my lovely parents, my father Yohanes Gatot Prasetya Kuntjara and my mother Maria Mimin Mujiwiyani, for their love, attention, trust and understanding, and support to me. I also would like to thank them for giving me a chance to know the beauty of the world; it means a lot for me. My special thanks go to my two little brothers, Andre and Fran, who have made my life more colorful with their presence and love. I also would like to thank my wonderful friend, Niken, for her love, understanding, patience and spirit, including the spirit that helps me finish my thesis.
I would like to express my special gratitude to my major-sponsor Henny Herawati, S. Pd., M. Hum., and my co-sponsor Drs. L. Bambang Hendarto Y., M. Hum., for their patience, attention and time, guidance, suggestion, corrections and encouragement that helps me much in finishing my thesis. I also would like to thank all my lectures in English Education Study Program for the knowledge and skills of English, and also the lesson of life that they gave to me.
I would like to thank the people that support me much, my closest friends in Mudika such as mas Haryo for the lesson to be a patience man, Ardian, Wahyu,
Sonny, and Robert for their amazing friendship during my life in Yogyakarta, my best friends in campus Haryo, Vendi, Febri, Galih, An, and Dudi for their support, and their help they have given to me during my study, my play-mates Mas Danis, Mas Dewan, and Anton for the good time in Yogyakarta. I also would like to thank the late pak Muryono who allowed me to live in this comfortable boarding house.
Finally, I would like to thank everybody who I cannot mention one by one for their help in my life in Yogyakarta and for their help in my study and especially in finishing my thesis. Everything that they gave to me means so much to me. May all His blessing, His guidance, and His protection be with them.
Pras
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
PAGES OF APPROVAL ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY iv
PAGE OF DEDICATION v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
ABSTRACT xii
ABSTRAK xiv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study 1
B. Problem Formulation 4
C. Objectives of the Study 4
D. Benefits of the Study 4
E. Definition of the Terms 5 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Theories 7
1. Critical Approaches 7
2. Setting 8
3. Character and Characterization 9 B. Review of England in the 16th Century 11
1. The Society Systems 11
a. The Government 11
1) King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547) 12 2) King Edward Tudor VI(1537 - 53) 14 3) Queen Mary I (1516 - 1558) 15
b. The Law 16
c. The Society 16
2. The Nobles 18
a. The Clothing 18
b. The Housing 20
c. The Food 20
d. The Life 21
3. The Common People 22
a. The Clothing 22
b. The Housing 23
c. The Food 23
d. The Life 25
4. Social Values 26
a. Monarchy 26
b. The English Poor Laws 28
C. Theoretical Framework 29
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY
A. Subject Matter 31
B. Approach of the Study 31
C. Method of the Study 32
CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS
A. Tom Canty’s Life and Prince Edward Tudor’s
Life 35
1. Tom Canty’s Life 37
a. In the Offal Court 37
b. In the Palace 43
2. Prince Edward Tudor’s Life 51
a. In the Palace 52
b. Outside the Palace 55
B. Mark Twain’s Criticism on the Nobles’ life in the 16th Century through Prince Edward Tudor and
Tom Canty 64
1. Nobles’ Life Style 65
a. The Clothing 66
b. The Housing 67
c. The Food 68
2. Nobles’ Manner 69
a. Rude 69
b. Arbitrary and Tyrannous 70
c. Greedy and Cunning 73
d. Arrogant 75
3. Nobles’ Cruelty 76
a. Torturing Innocent People 76
b. Violating Humanity 79
4. Nobles’ Ways of Governing 80 a. Ignoring the Common People’s Needs and
Rights 81
b. Interfering the Church 85 CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusions 87
B. Suggestions 89
1. Suggestion for Future Researcher (s) 89 2. Suggestion for the Teaching Reading II Using
Literary Work 89
BIBLIOGRAPHY 94
APPENDICES 97
ABSTRACT
Prasetya, Ria. (2007) Mark Twain’s Criticism on the English Nobles’ Life in the
16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper. Yogyakarta: Faculty of
Teachers Training and Education, Department of Language and Arts Education, English Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University. This thesis deals with Mark Twain’s criticism on the nobles’ life in the 16th century in Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper. Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper tells the adventure of the two young boys, Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty, who exchange their position. This novel describes the social life of the common people in England in the 16th century, and reveals the nobles’ life in the 16th century.
In this thesis, there are two problems formulated that are going to be discussed related to the topic of this thesis. First is how Tom Canty’s life and Prince Edward Tudor's life are described in the novel. Second is how Mark Twain criticizes the English Nobles’ life through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor.
Based on the two problems above, this study uses a library research to find out data. There are two kinds of sources in order to get the data used in this study; the primary data is the novel, The Prince and The Pauper, and the secondary data are from some books related to the theories and the internet. The books used as the secondary sources are books on theories of literature and books on history of England. While from the internet, the data are related to the biography of the writer and the history of England in the 16th century.
The socio-historical approach is used in this study, in order to gain the information about the society life of England in the 16th century. The theories of character and characterization are also used in this thesis to reveal the character traits of Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty. The theory of setting is used to reveal the setting of the story where the two main characters experience in.
Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor are two people born on the same day who are looked alike in physical appearance and they have similar character traits also. The two main characters who have a contrasting life backgrounds are experiencing a different life in their adventure, which reveals the English social life. Mark Twain criticizes the English nobles’ life in the 16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor.
Mark Twain criticizes nobles’ life style, nobles’ manner, nobles’ cruelty and nobles’ ways of governing. He uses some ways to convey his criticism. First, Mark Twain conveys his criticism on the nobles’ life through Prince Edward Tudor. Mark Twain uses four ways in delivering his criticism through Prince Edward Tudor. He conveys his criticism through Prince Edward’s manner, Prince Edward’s opinion and speech, Prince Edward’s adventure outside palace and by describing the Reign of Edward VI. Second, Mark Twain conveys his criticism on the nobles’ life through Tom Canty. Mark Twain uses three ways in delivering his criticism through Tom Canty. He conveys his criticism through Tom Canty’s poor life, Tom Canty’s opinion and speech and Tom Canty’s adventure in the palace.
In the last part of this thesis, there are two suggestions. The first is the suggestion for the next researcher(s) who will work on The Prince and The Pauper. The second is the suggestion for the teaching of Reading II using literary works.
ABSTRAK
Prasetya, Ria. (2007) Mark Twain’s Criticism on the English Nobles’ Life in the
16th Century in The Prince and The Pauper. Yogyakarta: Fakultas
Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni, Program Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Skripsi ini berhubungan dengan kritikan-kritikan Mark Twain pada kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris di abad 16 seperti yang tertuang dalam salah satu novel karya Mark Twain yaitu The Prince and The Pauper. Novel karyanya ini, The Prince and The Pauper, menceritakan kisah tentang petualangan dua anak laki-laki, Pangeran Edward Tudor dan Tom Canty, yang bertukar posisi satu sama lain. Novel ini menggambarkan keadaan kehidupan sosial rakyat jelata di Inggris pada abad XVI, dan mengungkapkan kehidupan para bangsawan pada abad tersebut.
Dalam skripsi ini ada dua pertanyaan yang akan menjadi bahan diskusi berhubungan dengan topic skripsi ini. Pertama mengenai bagaimana kehidupan Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor digambarkan dalam novel. Yang kedua mengenai bagaimana Mark Twain mengkritik kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris melalui Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor.
Berdasarkan dua pertanyaan tersebut, pembahasan dalam skripsi ini menggunakan metode studi pustaka dalam pencarian data-data. Terdapat dua macam sumber yang dipakai untuk mendapatkan data yang dipakai dalam skripsi ini; sumber utama yaitu novel The Prince and The Pauper, dan sumber penunjang yaitu dari beberapa buku mengenai teori-teori dan dari internet. Buku-buku yang digunakan sebagai penunjang merupakan buku-buku mengenai teori-teori literature dan buku-buku mengenai sejarah Inggris. Sedangkan data-data yang berasal dari internet berhubungan dengan biografi pengarang dan sejarah Inggris pada abad 16.
Metode pendekatan sosial dan sejarah digunakan dalam studi ini dengan tujuan untuk mendapatkan informasi mengenai kehidupan sosial Inggris pada abad 16. Teori karakter dan karakterisasi juga digunakan dalam skripsi ini untuk membantu mengungkap sifat-sifat dari tokoh Pangeran Edward Tudor dan Tom Canty. Teori seting digunakan untuk mengungkap seting cerita dimana kedua tokoh utama mengalaminya.
Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor adalah dua orang yang lahir di hari yang sama yang mempunyai keadaan fisik dan juga sifat-sifat yang sangat mirip. Kedua tokoh utama yang sesungguhnya mempunyai latar belakang kehidupan yang sangat berbeda mengalami kehidupan satu dengan yang lain dalam petualangan mereka, yang mengungkapkan kehidupan sosial di Inggris pada abad XVI. Kedua, Mark Twain mengkritik kehidupan para bangsawan Inggris di abad 16 seperti yang tertuang dalam The Prince and The Pauper melalui tokoh Tom Canty dan Pangeran Edward Tudor.
Mark Twain mengkritik para bangsawan antara lain gaya hidup mereka, sikap maupun tingkah laku mereka, kekejaman mereka, dan pemerintahan dari para bangsawan. Pertama, dia menggunakan tokoh Pangeran Edward Tudor. Mark Twain menggunakan empat cara dalam menyampaikan kritikannya melalui
Pangeran Edward Tudor. Dia menyampaikannya melalui tingkah laku, pendapat
Pangeran Edward Tudor. Dia menyampaikannya melalui tingkah laku, pendapat dan perkataan, dan petualangan pangeran Edward Tudor diluar istana, serta dengan mengungkapkan keadaan pemerintahan dimasa Edward VI. Kedua, Mark Twain menggunakan tokoh Tom Canty. Dia menggunakan tiga cara dalam menyampaikan kritikannya melalui Tom Canty. Dia menyampaikannya melalui kehidupan miskin Tom Canty, pendapat dan perkataan Tom Canty, dan melalui petualangan Tom Canty didalam istana.
Pada bagian akhir dari skripsi ini, terdapat dua saran. Saran yang pertama diperuntukan bagi (para) peniliti selanjutnya yang akan menganalisa novel yang sama. Saran yang selanjutnya diperuntukan bagi pengajaran Reading II dengan menggunakan karya sastra.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
In this chapter I would like to provide the background information of the study. This chapter includes background of the study, problem formulation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of the terms.
A. Background of the Study
Literature with its development already has produced a large number of literary works. There are so many kinds of literary works, such as poems, short stories, and longer stories which are usually called novels. The development of literature cannot be separated from the development of social life. Social life gives great contribution to the development of literature. That is why most of the literary works are affected by the social life.
One of the literary works which is affected by social life is Novel. In the nineteenth century, in some countries where the famous authors could be found, like in America, England, France, and others, the popular themes of most novels at that time were about royal families. The themes were influenced by the social background at that time, which mostly still dominated or had some inheritance of the life of royal families.
The history of England became one of the most popular themes in the literary works because the writers were aware of the wealth of the history of England. England and its history had inspired some writers to write their literary works. They used the theme because they were interested in criticizing the social
life at that time. The stories were about the kings, the princes and the knights who lived in the palace, and also the life of the common people itself.
In the 16th Century, the English Nobles lived in luxurious surroundings, had great authority, different from the life of the common people who did not have the luxury and authority. Therefore, the stories were about the life of the royal families and the life of the common people. Mostly the writers criticized the life of the royal families or the nobles’ life, because at that time the nobles often did the wrong things and lived inappropriately (Carter 61).
The nobles used their authority to fulfil their ambition to have a bigger territory and authority. They used all possible ways to achieve their goals, for example by oppressing the poor, slandering the rivals, and others. Therefore, it is reasonable that there were so many writers who were encouraged to criticize the nobles’ life. Earl of Warwick (John Dudley) is one of the nobles who lived in the reign of Edward VI. This nobleman represented the actual behavior of the nobles in the real life. Warwick attempted to increase his position by persuading Edward VI to create him as Duke of Northumberland. He also slandered Duke of Somerset to get higher position as Lord Protector of the Realm and Governor of the King's Person. Duke of Somerset, Edward’s uncle, was in that position (Black 119).
The Prince and the Pauper is one of Twain’s most strong thematic novels. Thematically, Mark Twain was particularly interested in contrasting the life of the rich with the life of the poor, the life of the nobility with the life of the lower classes. The title of the novel “The Prince and the Pauper” itself shows a strong contrasting background of the two major characters, Edward Tudor and Tom Canty. The first chapter of the novel describes the births of the Prince and the Pauper:
…, Edward Tudor, Prince of Wales, who lay lapped in silks and satins, unconscious of this fuss, not knowing that great lords and ladies were tending him and watching over him-and not caring either. But there was no talk about the other baby, Tom Canty, lapped in his poor rags, except among the family of the paupers whom he had just come to trouble with his presence (2).
Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor are the main characters who are used by Mark Twain to criticize the English nobles. Edward Tudor is a prince, whose life has been extremely guarded and luxurious, while Tom Canty is a pauper, who comes from the lowest ranks of society and whose life has been very hard.
his criticism on the nobles’ life that causes a hard condition in England through the characters of Tom Canty and Edward Tudor.
B. Problem Formulation
The problem discussed in this study can be formulated in the two questions stated as follows:
1. How are Tom Canty’s life and Prince Edward Tudor's life described in the novel?
2. How does Mark Twain criticize the English Nobles’ life through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor?
C. Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are to answer the two questions which are stated in the problem formulation. The first objective is to describe how Tom Canty’s life and Prince Edward Tudor's life in The Prince and the Pauper are. To find the answer of this question, the analysis will focus on the two major characters, Tom Canty and Prince Edward.
The second objective is to reveal how Mark Twain criticizes the English nobles’ life through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor. To find the answer this study will focus on the Tom Canty’s and Prince Edward’s life.
D. Benefits of the Study
them to have a better understanding of the story while reading this novel by considering the socio-historical background of the story. Therefore it can lead the readers to a better appreciation on the literary works.
For other readers or researchers who conduct a study on the same novel, this study can be used as a reference. So, other researchers who will conduct a literary study can use the result of this study as a consideration in the future works in literature.
This study is also expected to be useful for the English students. Through this study, the students may have a better understanding about the story and the values of life that can be portrayed. This study also can help them in learning the English culture, so that the students can increase their comprehension about the English culture.
This study also gives benefits to me as the thesis writer; this study gives me meaningful values of life and new knowledge of the English culture and its history. Therefore that new knowledge helps me to have better understanding on this novel and better appreciation of the literary works.
E. Definition of the Terms
In this part I would like to clarify some important terms, to avoid misunderstanding. I would like to clarify two terms. The first is criticism and the second is nobles.
1. Criticism
intended purposes, as opposed to the authoritarian command, which is meant as an absolute realization of the authority's will, thus not open for debate”. In other words, criticism is the activity of informed interpretation and almost exclusively refers to disagreement. However, in a literary context the term criticism usually refers to a judgement which attempts to understand the aesthetic object in depth.
2. Nobles
The second term is Nobles. Noble means a class of hereditary who acquired their rank through holding a high state office (Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.). In other words, noble means a class of high rank people who hold a high state they acquired their rank by inheritance since their birth or by their services to the King or their country.
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
In this chapter I would like to discuss all theories that will be the basis of analyzing the novel. This chapter covers review of related theories, review on England in the 16th Century, and theoretical framework.
A. Review of Related Theories 1. Critical Approaches
In exploring certain literary works and having a better appreciation to the works, Rohrberger and Woods Jr. (6-15) offer five approaches. They are the formalist approach, the biographical approach, the sociocultural-historical approach, the mythopoeic approach, and the psychological approach.
The formalist approach concentrates on the importance to comprehend the total integrity of the literary object. Esthetic value is the main concern. The critics try to demonstrate the harmonious involvement of all the parts to the whole by pointing out how meaning is derived from structure and how matters of technique determine structure. The biographical approach is used when an appreciation of the idea and personality of the author is intended to an understanding the literary work. Therefore, when we are using biographical approach we are expected to learn as much as possible the life of the author and to apply this knowledge to understand the writing. The sociocultural-historical approach insist that the only way to locate the real work is in reference to the civilization as the attitudes and actions of a specific group of people and point out that literature takes these
attitudes and actions as its subject matter. The mythopoeic approach is used to discover certain universally recurrent patterns of human thought, which they believe that they find some expression insignificant works of art. The psychological approach involves effort to locate and demonstrate certain recurrent patterns. This approach leads to the exploration of the unconscious area of the human mind, which led to the conclusion that it was this area that was the wellspring of man rich imagination, his capacity for creation and the complexity of his thought, behavior, and that the contents of his region of the mind found expression in symbolic words, thoughts, and actions.
2. Setting
present as an element of concurrence, agreement, reinforcement, and strengthening of character and theme. In other words, the setting may create an environment that is the opposite of what actually occurs in the story.
Kenney (41) divides setting into two types. The first is neutral setting, which refers to nothing but the setting itself and it does not influence the characters and the plot of the story. The second is spiritual setting which has special characteristics that differ from other settings. According to Kenney, spiritual setting includes “the value embodied in or implied by physical setting”. This kind of setting is not only a physical setting but also its custom, tradition, faith and value. Therefore in this study the second type of setting is applied because it includes the custom, tradition that can affect the character.
3. Character and Characterization
Character, according to Abrams (20), means “an imagined person who inhabits a story and it shows a distinctive type of person”. The second meaning is “all the mental or behavior traits of a person; the sum of psychological traits” English (83). While according to Stanton (17), the term of character may refer to two meanings. The first meaning of character is the individual who appears in the story. The second meaning of character is the description of attitude, interest, desires, emotion, and moral principle of individuals.
meaning that build the expectation and desires, which in modification shift the values upon the major character. On the other hand, the minor character performs more limited functions less complex than the major character, and presents what is only one side of the experience. The minor character function is as foils to support the major character.
Van Spruiell and Abend’s Theory of Character states that character
represents “the regularities in one person's behavior as observed by another, a pattern of related activities”. It thus represents “the singularity or uniqueness of a person, and hence his predictability”. In another sense character represents “a type of person, hence the placement of an individual in a group of supposedly like individuals”. In both senses, character arises in the mind of the observer.
While characterization, according to Baldick (34), is the presentation of persons in narrative and dramatic works. This may include direct methods like the attribution of qualities in description or commentary, and indirect (or dramatic) methods that invite readers to infer qualities from characters’ action, speech or appearance.
the eyes and opinion of another. The last is what the author says about them. In using this way the author speaks as a storyteller or an observer. The author describes the characters directly.
B. Review of England in the 16th Century
It is important to review the historical background of The Prince and the Pauper in analyzing this novel in order to have a better understanding of the novel. It is related to the socio-historical context of England in the reign of King Henry VIII in the 16th century. This part contains of the society systems, the nobles, the common people and the social values.
1. The Society Systems a. The Government
Chrimes (11) states that the Government of England officially and legally is His Majesty’s Government (the king and the crown). Therefore, Tregidgo (73) describes that the government of Britain had for many centuries been shared by three supreme authorities: the Monarch (i.e. the King or Queen), the Lords (i.e. the hereditary nobility), and the Common (i.e. ordinary people). The monarch, according to the hierarchy, consisted of the king, the queen and the prince. The title of prince belonged to the king's eldest son, who was called Prince of Wales. The king's younger sons were called after their names, like Lord Henry or Lord Edward.
the monarch or come to that honour by being the eldest sons or highest in succession to their parents. For the eldest son of a duke during his father's life was an earl, the eldest son of an earl was a baron, or sometimes a viscount. The monarch got their original donation and condition of the honour for good service done by the first ancestor.
The nobles have great influence to the government. According to Wikipedia’s Nobility, in many countries the nobility dominated great social and political importance. Therefore it also happened in England, that the English Government was dominated by the nobles until the twentieth century, with no exception it also happened in the 16th century. In the 16th century, the nobles not only have influence in political and social aspects, but also in the religion aspect. There were a lot of noblemen who tried to influence the government’s policy. Carrie’s England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century states about the Duke of Northumberland’s policy which arranged to move English policy in a more Protestant direction. In the reign of Edward Tudor VI, John Dudley (Earl of Warwick) represents the actual behavior of the nobles in the real life. Jeremy Black in A New History of England states:
The Crucial new figure was John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, who became Lord President of the Council 1550-1553, and Duke of Northumberland in 1551. A member of Henry VIII’s service nobility, he was representative of general aristocratic views on economic regulation and social policy, in being uninterested in either (119).
1) King Henry VIII (1491 - 1547)
Henry VIII, the second monarch of the House of Tudor, ruled England from 1509 until his death. Henry VIII was the second son of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Many significant pieces of legislation were made during Henry VIII's reign, including the several Acts which separated the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church (Morgan 240-7).
Henry and Parliament finally threw off England’s allegiance to Rome in an unsurpassed burst of revolutionary statute-marking: the Act of Annates (1532), the Act of Appeals (1533), the Act of Supremacy (1534), the First Act of Succession (1534), the Treasons Act (1534), and the Act against the Pope’s Authority (1536). The act of Appeals proclaimed Henry VIII’s new imperial status—all English jurisdiction, both secular and religious, now sprang from the king—and abolished the pope’s right to decide English ecclesiastical cases. The Act of Supremacy declared that the king of England was supreme head of the Ecclesia Anglicana, or Church of England—not the pope (Morgan 246-7).
There were a lot of people who disagreed towards the Act of Supremacy, which established related to the Roman Catholic Church law about his divorce, and those people were cruelly executed. “The victims of the act, who were in reality martyrs to Henry’s vindictive egoism, were cruelly executed in the summer of 1535” (Morgan 247). Henry forced the clergy to admit his position in the English church.
Henry were described as a king who was very autocratic in temper and high-handed in methods, and were not shy, on occasions, of straining and even perverting the law in order to get his own objectives (Chrimes 120). Kent McCroskey’s English Occupation states that he was a king who is infamous for his cruelty. Henry, the greatest nobleman in his reign, liked to spend his time for his own pleasure. “During the first years of his reign, Henry VIII seemed willing to devote himself to enjoyment, spending freely the hard-won treasure of his father. He seemed content in those early days to let others govern for him…” (England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century).
Wikipedia’s Lady Jane Grey describes that Henry VIII’s policies actually were also affected by his own noblemen. No wonder, several Protestant nobles had become wealthy when Henry VIII closed the Catholic monasteries and divided the Church's assets among his supporters. John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, figured prominently among the Protestant nobility.
2) King Edward Tudor VI (1537 - 53)
authority. Northumberland, fearing his influence, caused him to be arrested at the council board. He was tried, condemned, for treason, and executed” (Carter 61). Edward VI ruled in a short time, he died on 6 July 1553 at the age of fifteen. While the Duke of Northumberland wanted to prolong his position and his influence in the England government. He persuaded the King in the name of God to take Lady Jane Grey who was also a Protestant as his successor. Therefore, actually Lady Jane Grey was ordered to marry Northumberland’s fourth son (Lockyer 120).
3) Queen Mary I (1516 - 1558)
Mary brought to her throne in 1553 in the age of thirty- seven after the dead of Edward VI. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. The opening of her reign was marked with the execution of the Duke of Northumberland, Lady Jane Grey and her husband (Lockyer 121-2). Morgan (260) states that Mary got the throne of England because of she cheated by executing Lady Jane Grey.
Mary tried to turn England Church back to Roman Catholic Church. This effort was carried out by force, and hundreds of people were executed, that is why she was called ‘The Bloody Mary’.
Many of them who were executed were common people. “The list of martyrs under Mary includes only nine who were described as gentlemen. Just over a quarter of those burned were in holy orders; the rest came from the lower levels of English society, and included weavers, fullers, shearman, tailors, hosiers, cappers, husbandmen, labourers, brewers and butchers” (Lockyer.127). Some of the gentlemen were the Protestant Leader. Queen Mary died in 1558 after she spent long time in coma in her palace of St. James.
b. The Law
Law was tribal custom, or folkright, to which the king was subordinate in every respect, as any other member of the folk. He might, and on occasion did, find it necessary to declare, with the express or tacit assent of the ‘wise man’ of his realm (the witan), what the law was on certain points, and even to commit such declarations to writing. (Chrimes 73).
In the 16th century, the English Law strongly depended on the King. According to Carrie’s England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century, the king established the royal council and the Parliament. The king also could call his council and Parliament on special occasions or according to the king's pleasure. Then, the royal council and the parliament were in charge in determining the policy in England, including the laws, while it was also strictly depended on the king or by the king’s permission.
c. The Society
business of administration. His chief instrument of government was the royal council, which had in the fifteenth century been dominated by the nobles and was consequently ineffective. But the tradition had a little bit broken down after the end of the reign of Henry VII. The successor, King Henry VIII was a king who seemed willing to devote himself to enjoyment, and spending the treasure of his father. “Throughout the first half of his reign he devoted his days to hunting and his nights to feasting and love, content to leave routine administration and the formulation of policy to Wolsey” (Lockyer 33).
In his reign, it seemed that Henry VIII let others govern for him while he wasted his time on pleasure (England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century). Henry VIII only showed his desire on adventure, including on military adventure and he was also willing to be involved in the complicated diplomatic relationships of the Continental powers which violated the policy
duty of every citizen to contribute in overcoming the disorder, if they were called to do so by any lawfully constituted authority (Chrimes 66).
The common inhabitant lived in poverty. They were used too little food and to saving extra bits of food. They had one set of rags that he wears until they fall apart. They expected to take care of themselves and to do things for themselves. They slept quite comfortably on straw, tossed in a pile on the floor.
Tudor statesmen did not have to be told about the problems caused by agrarian change. Most of them were themselves landowners, and in London itself, the seat of government, the population was swelling rapidly as the beggars came to town. The stability of the Tudor state was threatened by these hunger marchers, and the government tried to stop them moving. An Act of 1495 ordered that vagabonds were to be sent back to their native parishes, and in 1501 the Justices of the Peace were made responsible for seeing that this was carried out (Lockyer 137-138).
The poor were divided into three groups by the government. The first were called the ‘Impotent’ Poor. These would include the old, the sick, the disabled and children. The second group was called the Able Bodied Poor. This group would include the people who could work and wanted to work. Each member was meant to build a workhouse. The third group was known as Rogues and Vagabonds. This was a group which is targeted by the government, because this group consisted of people who could work but preferred to beg or steal (Lockyer 137-8)
2. The Nobles a. The Clothing
was often some type of high collar. There were some ruffles in the women’s clothes. The collar that extends to the chin and usually would ruffle at the top. The sleeves were usually full from the shoulder to the elbow and then more tight from the elbow to the wrist. At the wrist the sleeves would open wide into a large ruffle. The gown usually contained a v-shaped point at the waistline and then expanded into a sort of funnel shape reaching the ground.
The shoes which the women wore at the beginning period were not important because the gown usually reached down to the floor; the shoes often were almost not seen. They were used to wear some accessories. As for jewelry, many women in the 16th century wore large pendants or medallion of gold around their necks. The richer or the higher of the rank also could be seen from the accessories, as in the used of the earrings. Earrings were not very common except among the very rich, who would wear pearls for their earrings. Many women in this period also would choose the small jeweled caps or hat that decorated with jewels, pearls, or lace (Fashions: Women and Men).
While the noblemen in the 16th century, according to Christmon’s. Fashions: Women and Men, wore embroidered shirts called jerkins, which had square shoulders and buttons down the front. The sleeves were often decorated and not as tight as the sleeves in the women’s clothes. The sleeves would fit all the way to the wrists. The pants were a little bit shaggy and about three to four inches higher above the knee. They were also used the stockings in their feet.
was covered by fine fabric or feathers. Some of the more distinguished or high rank men wore small capes with big-edged collars. The men also wore some kind of short perfumed gloves (Fashions: Women and Men).
b. The Housing
Halsall’s Of The Manner Of Building And Furniture Of Our Houses states the houses of the nobles usually were made from brick, hard stone and timber. The ancient houses of the monarch were made by strong timber. The houses would contain some large rooms which usually were made by either of brick or hard stone, or both. The office of the nobles was usually a little bit far from their home or their lodgings. The office and the house of the nobles were likewise wrought with brick and hard stone, as provision may best be made. It was so magnificent and stately as the house of a baron often matches in their days with some honours of the monarch in old time.
There were a lot of furniture in the noblemen's houses. The common furniture in the nobles’ house were arras, rich hangings of tapestry, silver vessels, and so much other plate as may furnish various cupboards (Of The Manner Of Building And Furniture Of Our Houses).
c. The Food
Halsall’s Of The Food And Diet Of The English describes in the sixteenth century, the banquets that were eaten by the nobles were so big. Generally they employed so many servants, even for the oddest job tasks, for example the servants were asked to get fresh bread and replace it with the old bread that had gotten stale during the meal. Only the royal and the wealthy family in those days could afford to have such a feast. Their food also consisted principally of beef, and such meat as the butcher sold like mutton, veal, lamb, pork etc. In daily they also brought the bread made of wheat to the table, whereof the first and most excellent is the manchet, which commonly called white bread.
The beer that was used at noblemen's tables in their fixed and standing houses commonly a year old, or peradventure of two years' tuning or more; but this was not general. It was also brewed in March, and therefore called March beer. Their drink, whose force and continuance was partly touched already, was made of barley, water, and hops, sodden and mingled together, by the industry of our brewers in a certain exact proportion. In some places of England there was a kind of drink made of apples which they called cider or pomage, and there was a kind of drink that made of pears which they called perry. Both were grounded and pressed mechanically (Of The Food And Diet Of The English).
d. The Life
The Monarch and the Lords, in this study called as the nobles, lived in luxury. They used to devote their live for their own pleasure.
They were used to fine foods and magnificent clothing. They were used to being served on by hundreds of servants. They were used to being guarded and to giving commands that others obeyed quickly. They were used to sleeping in soft, comfortable beds. In the 16th century, there were some people who owned large lands who rent them to other people, called landlords. Mostly the landlords were the nobles. They had traditionally let the poor took care of their lands, by breeding some animals or growing some crops.
The nobles were a small group, drawn, in the eighty years between Elizabeth accession and the civil war, from just over one hundred and fifty families. They were great landowners but, like the Crown, they had an example to set, and only those who were desperate for money resorted to rack-renting and eviction (Lockyer 142).
In the Tudor times, landlords realized that the land could be more beneficial when they managed it well, while they could get the poor handled it. They had the authority employed or fired the people who they wanted. Sometimes they drove away the poor to leave their land. With nothing to do in the countryside, many poor drifted to towns and cities to look for work. Also landlords were moving away from growing crops like corn and turning to sheep farming as a growing population required more clothes and good money could be made from breeding sheep. As there were more people than jobs available in the countryside, this caused more problems for the towns and cities as people went from the country to the towns looking for work (Poor in Elizabethan England).
Greenberg’s Men's and Women's Work Clothing: A Portfolio of Image describes that there were no special clothes for common people. They only had some pieces of cloth, or even the poor commonly only had a piece of cloth. The clothes of the common people in England, especially for the poor who were categorized who could work, depended on what the field they work on and the season at that time. In January the woman used front fastening gown rose wool gown over narrow sleeved, red under gown and fur-lined. The woman who worked in milking the cow wore an over gown, fitted to the waist, of light red/rose with a deep v backline, over an under gown of black. The shift sleeves were visible beneath the short sleeves of the gown, and had drawn blue over sleeves on to protect her arms. She also wore a linen apron and head wrap.
In December when it was snowing, the woman wore a blue, long-sleeved, lined over gown over a blue under gown. The footwear protected the feet while two head wraps and a hat protect the head (Men's and Women's Work Clothing: A Portfolio of Image).
b. The Housing
family worked and ate together along the rear of the house (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
c. The Food
Halsall’s Of The Food And Diet Of The English states that the poor lived in a hard life which few looked back upon with contentment and satisfaction in their face. However they were happy and well fed with any amount of bread and bacon, and plenty of home-brewed beer. Most of them worked from rising dawn until sunset and they only ate bread and potatoes with an occasional piece of bacon and an apple dumpling. Therefore, it was not surprisingly if they often went to bed hungry.
There were there kinds of bread in England in the sixteenth century. The first and most excellent was the manchet, which was commonly called white bread. This was a kind of bread which generally was consumed by the high rank people. The second was the cheat or wheaten bread. The actual color of this bread was not white, because it was made from the grey or yellowish wheat. It was being cleaned and well dressed, that was why this kind of bread was named so. This kind of bread sometimes was used in the halls of the nobility and gentry only. The third kind of bread which, of course, had lower quality was called brown bread, which was appointed for servants, slaves, and the inferior kind of people (Of The Food And Diet Of The English).
potatoes and possibly dumplings. For supper they sometimes just like as what they have in breakfast, with the occasional addition of an apple pie. Sometimes they used vegetables as their food when they could not afford the meat. That was why the idea of vegetables as pauper's food was still very strong at that time. People of this time did not use the utensils that the noblemen use. They thought that using their hands to scoop out the food was much more efficient (Food in England).
d. The Life
The way of life common people depended on the social class that divided them. The helpless poor included the old, the sick, the disabled and children. The elderly and the disabled received a sum of money and possibly some food each week. If they were unable to collect both, it would be delivered to their house. The poor children were given apprenticeships which were paid by the parish. In this way, the parish could expect to get benefit from the children when they had grown up and learned a new skill. Boys were usually apprenticed until they were 24 years old. While the girls could be apprenticed until they were 21 years old, while they would work with their mistress. People who were considered as the "aged, poor and impotent persons" were not considered to be a burden as the government believed that it was not their fault that they were in their position. While, some parishes gave these people a license to beg (Lockyer 138).
might benefit the parish. They got paid out of the Poor Rate. They would remain in the workhouse until they found a ‘normal’ job.
The next kind of classes was the class of people which were usually hunted by the government. They were Rogues and Vagabonds. They were people who could work but they preferred to beg or steal. This group worried the government as they were mostly troublesome. The government prohibited begging, and considered it as an illegal and anybody who was found begging would be flogged or lashed until "his back was bloody". If they were found begging outside of their parish, they would be beaten. Those who were caught continually begging could be sent to prison and hanged. During the reign of Edward VI, caught vagabonds could have their tongue branded and kept as slaves for two years
In London, the rich lived in one part of the city while the poor lived towards the east where modern-day Fleet Street is and towards the City. They had to separate each other. If a poor person was found in the west of the city, it would be assumed by those that made the law (the rich) that the poor was against the law and could be punished. The poor kept themselves living with their own tribe in London and even they had developed their own form of language. This was known as canting. This kind of language-form occurred behind the idea that no-one else could or would know what they were talking about. They meant it as a kind of self-protection against the law (Poor in Elizabethan England).
Monarchy is a kind of form of government in which one person has the hereditary right to rule as the head of state during his or her lifetime; the term is also applied to the state which is being governed, for example British Monarch. Chrimes (11) states “Government is officially and legally His Majesty’s Government (the king and the crown)”. The power of the monarch changes from absolute authority to very limited authority along changes that happens in the society; the latter is exemplified in modern-day constitutional monarchies. Monarchs include such rulers as kings and queens, emperors and empresses, tsars, and Kaisers (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
According to Chrimes (12), “…the King is a natural person who possesses a number of rights and powers (not vested in any other person), some by virtue of royal prerogative (i.e. by common law relating to the King), some by virtue of Act of Parliament, and the sum total of these rights and power constitutes the Crown”. The king established the royal council, and he himself determined the number and composition. The king also could call his council on special occasions or according to the king's pleasure. Parliament, like the council, is also as a tool of royal government. Parliament also was called at the king's pleasure, and he had the right to dissolve or adjourn it at any time. Later, the royal council and the parliament were in charge in determining the policy in England, including the laws, while it was also strictly depended on the king or by the king’s permission (England and Scotland in the Sixteenth Century).
separated the English church from Rome and declared himself as the head of the English church.
Through the history, it can be seen that many monarchs have wielded absolute power, sometimes based on their presumed divinity. Then, the power became centralized in the hands of the sovereigns. At first these rulers were supported by the growing middle class, or bourgeoisie, in building and maintaining the monarchs. The supporters, the bourgeoisie, benefited the rulers to form a strong central government that maintained order and provided a stable atmosphere, in which later could supports the development of the society, economic and political of the monarchs.
By the 15th and 16th centuries absolute monarchs, such as King Henry VIII of England and King Louis XIV of France, ruled the countries of Europe. Abuses of power, as well as growing dissatisfaction among the bourgeoisie, helped bring about the end of many absolute monarchies; revolutions in England in the 17th century and in France in the 18th century were major landmarks in the limitation of absolute power (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
b. The English Poor Laws
(Lockyer 139-40). The tax was called the Poor Rate. It was used to help the poor. This had two benefits. First, it made the poor felt that something was being done for them and made them felt less angry about the situation they were in. Secondly, some good work could be done by the poor within the parish to help the parish (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
The Poor Laws made local government the primary administrator of welfare. In order to keep welfare beneficiaries under the supervision of their providers, the laws also discouraged the migration of the poor among administrative regions, or parishes. From their inception, the Poor Laws generated controversy. Opponents of the laws argued that if the poor received public assistance, some of them might avoid work, not work hard enough, or not save any of their earnings (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005).
C. Theoretical Framework
In this part I would like to describe the theories and reviews that I will apply. I use the theory of the critical approaches which can give the knowledge about some approaches. It helps me to decide the most appropriate approach to explore the novel. In this case, through the critical approaches I decide to choose the socio-historical approach, because it can help me get the information of the social and historical background of the story.
this theory, I can describe the character of the two main characters in the novel; they are Prince Edward and Tom Canty.
In analyzing the first problem, I also have to know the setting of the novel, because the two main characters are experiencing the two different setting in the novel. Therefore, theory of setting is used to help me to reveal the setting of the story in the novel
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
This chapter covers subject matter, approach of the study, and method of the study. The subject matter contains a brief description of the novel. In the next part I would like to discuss the approach which is used in this study. In the method of the study I would like to discuss the steps that I followed starting from collecting data and resources until using those data and resources to answer the two questions stated in the problem formulation.
A. Subject Matter
The subject matter of this study is Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper. This novel was written by Mark Twain in 1881, based on the social life in England on the 16th century in the Reign of King Henry VIII. The Prince and The Pauper tells a story of two young boys who are identical in appearance but come from a different social level, and exchange their position.
The Prince and The Pauper is an American novel, although the setting of the story is in England in 1547. Mark Twain, the author, is considered to be one of America’s greatest humorists and writers. The Prince and The Pauper was first published in 1881. In this study, the writer used the novel which was published by P F. Collier & Son Company in New York in 1921. The novel consists of 274 pages and is divided into thirty-three chapters.
B. Approach of the Study
In this study, I will analyze Mark Twain’s The Prince and The Pauper
which reveals the social life of England in sixteenth century. The novel tells the contrasting life of the common people and the life of the higher level, the royal family life and the nobles’ life. I believe that by this novel Mark Twain would like to reveal the social life to convey his criticism through the major characters.
It is necessary to analyze the background of the society of the novel. In order to have a better understanding about the story, including the society of the story, I will use the socio-historical approach to answer the second question as stated in the problem formulation part. I use the socio-historical approach to describe the society and the historical background related to the story. By using this kind of approach, I can give a description about the socio-historical background of England in the 16th century, and also the social life at that time in order to give the insight and the information on the condition at that time. I use the socio-historical approach because I believe that Mark Twain inserted a criticism to the England social life in the 16th century through his novel, and also based on the fact that some references state that Mark Twain was a realist and humorist writer (Mark Twain Biography). Therefore, he usually wrote the things he knew about from the firsthand experience and inserted his criticism in it (Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910)).
The method which was applied in gathering the data for the analysis in this study was the library research. There were some steps which were applied in this analysis.
First, I selected the literary work which would be analyzed in this study. Therefore, after reading some novels I decided to use Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper as the primary data in this study. The first impression that I got when reading this novel was the title. I was interested in the depiction of the two characters that revealed the strong contrasting life. I studied the novel in order to gain deeper understanding about the novel and the meaning that I wanted to reveal. First, I focused on the context. I believe that understanding the context of the novel would influence the interpretation of the novel.
Second, I kept on further reading for a better understanding on the novel, including the characters, the setting and some important events in the novel related to this study. After further reading, I got an implicit meaning from the story of the novel. Therefore, I could decide the best topic for my study. I decided to take the topic about criticism of the nobles’ life.
Then the next step, I formulated two problems. The first dealt with the two main characters, that was to describe the life of the two major characters, Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor. The second was about how Mark Twain criticizes the English nobles’ life through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor.
In the fourth step, I focused on studying the theory of the critical approaches to get the appropriate approach for my study. I read A Glossary of
concerned on the theory of critical approach.. I also read Reading and writing about literature; An Introduction to Fiction; Fiction: An Introduction to Reading
and Writing; How to Read and Write about Fiction; Reading the Novel: An
Understanding to Techniques of Interpreting Fiction.
Fifth, after studying the theory of critical approaches, I decided to use Psychological and Socio-Historical Approach in analyzing the novel. I also read
Character and The Novel and some handouts about literature. Then I decided to use some theories which would help me in digging out the novel including character theory and setting theory.
In the sixth step, I started to collect some references that can be used to answer the questions as stated in the problem formulation part related to the study. In this step, I collected the sources and articles about Mark Twain’s life, works, and criticism both from books and also from the electronic source or internet. I also started to find some books related to the History of England in the 16th century, the English culture and society in the 16th Century.
CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS
This chapter is aimed to analyze the two questions which are stated in the problem formulation. First, I would like to analyze how Tom Canty’s life and Prince Edward Tudor's life in The Prince and the Pauper are. This part deals with the life and the character of those two main characters. Second, I would like to reveal how Mark Twain criticizes the English nobles’ life through the characters of Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor.
A. Tom Canty’s Life and Prince Edward Tudor’s Life
In this part, the study will analyze the life of the two main characters in this novel, Tom Canty and Prince Edward Tudor, including how their characters are described. Therefore, this part divided into two. The first part deals with the Tom Canty’s life that contains of the life and the characters of Tom Canty both in his original habitation, in a poor family, and in the palace after he exchanges his position with the prince. The second part deals with the Prince Edward Tudor’s life, including his character, and both while in the palace and in his adventure outside the palace.
In the story Tom Canty and Prince Edward are born on the same day. “….on a certain autumn day in the second quarter of the sixteenth century, a boy was born to a poor family of the name of Canty, who did not want him. On the same day another English child was born to a rich family of the name of Tudor, who did want him” (1). From this quotation, there is a strong differentiation
between the two characters. Tom Canty is born in the poor family that almost do not hope him to be born because of their poverty. On the other hand, Edward Tudor is born in the family that do hope him so much to be born to be acceding to the throne of England later.
In this novel, Mark Twain describes those two main characters as two people who looked alike in physical appearance. The similar physical appearance of the two main characters can be seen after they exchange their clothes. “….the little Prince of Wales was garlanded with Tom’s fluttering odds and ends, and the little Prince of Pauperdom was tricked out in the gaudy plumage of royalty. The two went and stood side by side before a great mirror, and lo, a miracle: there did not seem to have been any change made!” (17). The similar physical appearance of the two main characters also can be seen when Prince Edward Tudor says “….Thou hast the same hair, the same eyes, the same voice and manner, the same form and stature, the same face and countenance, that I bear. Fared we forth naked, there is none could say which was you, and which the Prince of Wales” (17).
characters in the story. The third, the author expresses through what other character says about the other character. In this method, the information about a character can be gained through other characters’ opinion. The fourth, the author describes the characters directly. In this case the author can speak as a storyteller or an observer.
1. Tom Canty’s Life
In the 16th century, the poor lived in a very hard life that it was very rare for them to appear with contentment and satisfaction in their face. Their houses generally were made of wood. Their wooden houses were very simple and only had a main room or two main rooms (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005). The way of life common people depended on the social class that divided them and lived separately with the rich or the nobles (Poor in Elizabethan England). Therefore, Greenberg’s Men's and Women's Work Clothing: A Portfolio of Image states that there were no special clothes that the common people had except for those who work for the parish.
a. In the Offal Court
as canting. This kind of language-form occurred behind the idea that no-one else could or would know what they were talking about. They meant it as a kind of self-protection against the law (Poor in Elizabethan England).
Tom Canty lives in a poor neighbourhood in Offal Court, out off Pudding Lane. Offal Court, a place where Tom Canty was born, is a typical common people’s neighbourhood in London. “The streets were very narrow, and crooked, and dirty, especially in the part where Tom Canty lived, which was not far from London Bridge” (3). There are a lot of poor family in Offal Court, so that the neighbourhood is very crowded. “It was small, decayed, and rickety, but it was packed full of wretchedly poor families” (3).
Generally, the common people in 16th century lived in wooden houses. A little stone chimney or funnel stood in the center of the house, providing cooking facilities and heat during the long winters (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Reference Library 2005). The houses in Offal Court, generally, are very simple made of wood and so is the house where the Canty’s family live (3).
There were no special clothes for common people. They only had some pieces of cloth, or even the poor commonly only had a piece of cloth. The clothes of the common people in England, especially for the poor who were categorized who could work, depended on what the field they work on and the season at that time (Men's and Women's Work Clothing: A Portfolio of Image).
did not owing the guarantees for freedom, they were just free doing what they liked, and saying what they liked as long as they did not break the law which were exists at any time. In the novel, in the Offal Court where Tom Canty lives, the safety is not guaranteed in there. There are a lot of riots every night. “Drunkenness, riot, and brawling were the order there, every night and nearly all night long. Broken heads were as common as hunger in that place” (4). Just like as other common people, they live under the King’s laws. Often, they have to have experiences the cruelty of the English laws, hunt down by the law, and of many types of injustices.
There were three social classes of common people. The first is the ‘Impotent’ Poor who depended on Government support. The second is the Able Bodied Poor who made clothes or anything that might benefit for the parish. The third is Rogues and Vagabonds classes who could work but they preferred to beg or steal (Lockyer 138).
sleep where they chose” (3). “There were the remains of blanket or two, and some bundles of ancient and dirty straw, but these could not rightly be called beds, for they were not organized…. “(4). They only have no more than a pair of cloth. They work with that clothes and also sleep with the same clothes.
Halsall’s Of The Food And Diet Of The English describes the life of the common people was very hard. Most of them worked from rising dawn until sunset and they only ate bread and potatoes with an occasional piece of bacon and an apple dumpling. While it was very usual for them to go to bed hungry. Hunger is also very common in offal court, and so the Tom’s family. Tom’s family have no special things in their food and they have limited food in their daily life. They only eat what they just can afford from begging, and eat whenever they have it. The limited amount of the food makes them treat it as a crucial matter. Sometimes Tom goes to bed hungry when he is being punished by his father because he does not get the food as his punishment. Therefore, in the night, his mother who is also starving will give him a little piece of bread that she keeps from her own. “….in the night his starving mother would slip to him stealthily with any miserable scrap or crust she had been able to save for him by going hungry herself…. ” (5).
care of it. “….but they were afraid of the jeers of their friends…” (4). He does not take that mocking as an obstacle to fulfil his desires in studying.
Moreover, he dares to take the risk to fulfil his desires and with his smartness, he will try to get what he wants and to avoid the punishment. “He only begged just enough to save himself, for the laws against mendicancy were stringent, and the penalties heavy…“(5). The second chapter describes that Tom has to beg, and he will get punishment from his father and grand mother if he can not get some money. “When he came home empty-handed at night, he knew his father would curse him and thrash him first, and that when he was done the awful grandmother would do it all over again and improve on it… “ (5). Tom knows if he does not make his father satisfied with his begging-result, his father will punish him with beatings and even his grandmother will do more than his father. That is why when Tom wants to have other activities, for example listening to Father Andrew; he has to be as clever as he can to fulfil his desire safely. Unconsciously, Tom grows to be a smart boy who can adapt with the condition in his neighbourhood.
In this novel Mark Twain implicitly describes Tom as a special boy growing in the poor neighbourhood who has great ability to adapt in the situation surrounds him, even when he has a new neighbourhood, in the palace, which is very different with his origin neighbourhood, in the Offal Court, a poor neighbourhood.
curiously ceremonies and courtly, to the vast admiration and amusement of his intimates “ (6).
Tom Canty is also described as a person who has a great influence to other people surrounds him. His good-manner leads him to be regarded by other people. In his society among his friends he becomes a person who is esteemed. “….Tom’s influence among these young people began to grow now, day by day; and in time he came to be looked up to by them with assort of wondering awe, as a superior being” (6). In some cases he becomes the leader, as when he organises a royal court. “Privately, after a while, Tom organized a royal court! He was the prince; his special comrades were guards, chamberlains, equerries, lords and ladies in waiting, and the royal family” (7).
