The historical fiction novel, The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, begins with an introduction of the

two main characters and protagonists, Tom Canty and Edward Tudor. They undergo many misfortunes in the novel, but they both become better people or better-off in society in the end. The main antagonist is the culture and society in which the book takes place. Most of the people think both characters barking mad because of their culture. They will believe that a girl can create a storm by pulling her stockings off, but they wouldnt believe that a boy in rags could be a Prince. They thought that the Prince would sooner forget two languages but leave two others rather than switch places with a pauper. There are also some minor antagonists, such as John Canty, Grandmother Canty, Hugh Hendon, and the so-called Archangel. The tone of this story is informative and a little bit sarcastic. The mood of the story is pity. The story makes the reader feel bad for the main characters. Tom represents the poor folk of England and Edward represents the elite group. The point-of-view is third person omniscient because it tells the stories of both of the main characters and the thoughts of all those involved. The story goes back and forth between the story of Tom Canty and the story of Edward Tudor. The author feels that the society of England in the 1500s was very harsh and hard to live in and shows it by exaggerating the cruelty and beliefs of the citizens in the story. The story begins in England in the early 1500s, near the end of the reign of King Henry VIII. Tom Canty is very poor and livesw in a dreadful part of town called Offal Court. He is a beggar and his father and grandmother beat him if he does not bring home enough money to suit them. However, his mother and his sisters, Nan and Bet, love him. Tom knows how to read and write and can speak two languages: English and Latin. Another man that lives in Offal Court, a priest, tells Tom, Nan, Bet, and the other children fairytales, stories of royalty, dragons, and most of all, luxury. From that point forward, tom has his heart set on meeting a Prince and dreams of being one at night, only to wake up in the dark apartment on a bed of straw. He even begins to talk and act somewhat like a Prince, and the people of Offal Court, excluding his family, think that he is full of wisdom and come to him with their problems. Edward Tudor is the Prince of Wales, only son of King Henry VII of England. He loves his life of power and riches, and although the citizens of England would say otherwise, his father. He knows only of his life within the palace walls and nothing of the cruelty just outside his window. He speaks English, French, Latin, and Greek and lives in the center of a society where every crimes consequence is death by hanging, being boiled alive, being burned at the stake, or having limbs cut off. However, Edward is perfectly safe within the invisible bars of his luxurious prison, and he is happy with his life, until he meets Tom Canty. One fateful day, Tom was supposed to be out begging for a few farthings, or a penny if he was lucky, but he was lost in his princely daydreams and walked farther than he had ever beforeall the way to the palace. He tried to enter to meet the Prince, but the guards attacked him. He wouldve been thrown back to the streets, battered and bruised, had the Prince not been passing by, adorned with gold and jewels, and ordered the guards to admit the young beggar to the palace. Tom and the Prince told each other about their lives and realize that there are certain parts of the others life that they would like to experience for themselves, so they switch clothing and realize that, when they stand in front of the mirror in the others clothes, there seems to have been no change from before they changed clothes. The Prince and the pauper, exactly the same age, look exactly alike.

Edward heads out the door and the guards, thinking that he is the same beggar that they let inside the gates, boot him into the street. Tom begins his life as a Prince, and everyone thinks that the Prince has gone mad because he claims to be a poor beggar from Offal Court, when the real Prince has lived in the palace his whole life. The King tests Tom to see if he is mad and determines that he is because he seems to have forgotten his French and Greek. He isnt allowed to do anything for himself, even sleep alone in a room. The servants are told to pretend that they dont notice the Princes madness and that his lessons would be canceled until it passes because his ailment comes from over-studying. Although the real Prince did not beg even a farthing, he went to Offal Court and was beaten by Toms father and grandmother. Toms mother began to suspect that Edward was not her son, so she conducted a test while he was asleep. It failed once and she became worried. It failed twice and she became frantic. When it failed the third time, she became absolutely distraught. The next day, John Canty received word that the police were going after him that day because of a murder that he committed. The same day, the King died. John Canty made everyone in the family change their names and run away. However, they got separated in the crowd gathered where the messenger telling of the Kings death stood. Edward hears of his fathers death and goes up to the palace gates, claiming that he was the Prince and is now the new King, and demanding to be let inside. The crowd jeers at him because they believe that he is insane. However, a man by the name of Miles Hendon, who feels sorry for him because he believes that Edward is mad, takes him in. Tom Canty, after only a few days of being the Prince, was being addressed as King Edward. He had to deal with finances and punishment for crimes and abolished many laws concerning consequences, such as being boiled alive for poisoning someone. Instead, the murderer would be hanged. He also began to confide in the whipping boy daily for information on how to live a life of royalty, although the whipping boy knows nothing of the real reason that Tom needs the information; he only believes he is helping the King regain his senses. However, the one thing that the whipping boy cannot tell him is the location of the Great Seal of England. Only the true Prince knows the appearance and location of the Great Seal.