The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Modernizing Pudd’nhead’s Calendar”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of the relationship of Pudd’nhead Wilson’s aphorisms to the chapters they introduce by creating their own aphorisms for several of the novel’s chapters.

The aphorisms that introduce the chapters of Pudd’nhead Wilson are among Mark Twain’s most well-known sayings. These aphorisms serve to characterize David Wilson, comment on the book’s action, and support the book’s themes. In this activity, you will demonstrate your understanding of aphorisms and Twain’s use of this device by choosing three chapters and replacing Twain’s aphorisms with more updated choices.

• Choose three of the aphorisms that serve as epigraphs in The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson.
• Make sure that you understand how each of these epigraphs characterizes Wilson, comments on the plot of the chapter it introduces, and points to theme.
• Find a contemporary replacement for each of the three aphorisms. You can mine any kind of classroom-appropriate source you like to find your modern aphorisms. Some potential sources are songs, social media, poetry, books, comics, television, video games, and movies. Your replacement should:

o Perform essentially the same functions as the original

o Be from a contemporary source (composed within your lifetime)

o Be aphoristic in nature

o Be clearly cited in a format acceptable to your instructor

• When you finish, you will share your aphorisms with a small group. You will present each of your modernized aphorisms without saying which of Twain’s aphorisms they are based on, and the group will try to match each aphorism with the original that inspired it.

Teaching Suggestion: This activity will be easier for students to complete in class if they have internet access. If this is impractical for your classroom, you might assign the activity as homework or modify the activity by finding five or so aphorisms in advance and challenging students to match these to existing chapters. They can write down or discuss their reasons for their matches, focusing on characterization, plot, and theme. If your students do have access to the internet but lack the research skills to find their aphorisms efficiently, you might find a few especially fertile sources ahead of time so that you can guide their search. If the term “aphorism” is new to your students, you might plan a few minutes to discuss this term ahead of time and help students understand exactly what makes certain language aphoristic.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with anxiety, perfectionism, or other conditions that might contribute to decision paralysis may find it overwhelming to choose among the almost limitless possibilities available on the internet. They may benefit from having a more limited number of sources from which to choose. They may also benefit from working with a partner on this activity. Working with a partner will also benefit students with conditions that limit reading fluency. Students who struggle with abstract thought may find it unreasonably difficult to find accurate aphorisms in novel sources; a potential accommodation for these students might be allowing them to simply reword three of Twain’s aphorisms in more modern language of their own.