Chapters 1-2 Summary

Pudd'nhead Wilson is a novel by the classic novelist Mark Twain. In this novel, a slave switches her child with the child of her master in order to protect him from the darker side of slavery. The child grows to be spoiled and cruel, treating his own mother with disdain until he learns the truth of his birth. Frightened of being discovered, this young man commits the one crime that will reveal the truth to everyone he has ever known and cause him to be sold down river, just as his mother once feared. Pudd'nhead Wilson is a fascinating study in human nature that entertains as it encourages its readers to consider the bigger questions of society.

Dawson's Landing is a sleepy little town on the Mississippi River. The chief resident, or most prominent, is Judge Driscoll, whose ancestors are from...