Characteristics of the heroes of the story of the prince and the beggar. "The Prince and the Pauper": the main characters. Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary
The Prince and the Pauper was written by Mark Twain in 1881. The author takes readers to the 16th century. True, the history of England has never known such events as the substitution of a prince, and not a single king experienced the adventures that fell to the lot of the main character of the book - Prince Edward, but nevertheless, life ordinary people, the injustice of laws, the forced poverty of ordinary Englishmen are described almost authentically and plausibly.
The main characters of M. Twain's novel "The Prince and the Pauper":
- Tom Kenti - a beggar. Thanks to the priest, I learned to read, and I enjoyed reading books about another life. Andrew's father told him legends, fairy tales. Tom began to read books and learned that there is a completely different life. He dreamed of seeing the Prince of Wales. In the future, he began to introduce himself as the Prince of Wales so much that his speech changed. He began to speak as a representative of high society. The boys first mocked him, then they respected him, recognized his leadership. The children told the adults, and already the adults noticed how Tom Kenti had changed. The adults began to consult with Tom. Tom started the Royal Court in his yard, where he was a prince, and his friends - bodyguards, valets, lords, etc. It was a game. Beautiful, majestic. But life demanded that he beg. And one day, wandering around the city, he reached the royal palace. The prince invited him to the palace, and they switched roles. Becoming king, Tom showed generosity and wisdom. True, his hands were often tied by conventions and etiquette. The prince's uncle tried to influence his actions. Tom started to enjoy being king. He made fewer mistakes.
- Tom's father - negative hero: drunkard, thief and rowdy. Ignorant and heartless. This person is not familiar with feelings of love and affection.
- Grandma - beggar beggar. She also liked to drink, and after drinking, she used foul language.
- Bet and Nan - dirty sisters, twins 15 years old.
- Mother - a timid woman, downtrodden by her husband and poverty. She loved her son, and secretly from her father tried to hide the best piece for her son.
- Priest Andrew - a kind old man, not at all like the inhabitants of the house. He taught Tom to read and write, and even learned Latin. Defending the prince, whom he mistook for Tom, Andrew's father died.
- King Henry VIIIwas a cruel and domineering king. Before his name, not only the subjects of England, but also the neighboring countries trembled. But he was a loving father to his children, and especially to Edward.
- Prince edward of wales - a kind young man. He is well brought up and educated, as required by his destiny - to be the king and master of his subjects. But in his heart he remains a boy. He dreamed of breaking out of the palace and at least one day to be in the role of a common man, not a prince. But, dressed in the rags of a beggar, he continued to be a prince. Psychology, education in one day cannot be changed. Under any, the most difficult circumstances, he retained his human and royal dignity.
- Edward Seymour earl Hertford- the prince's maternal uncle. I wanted to take advantage of the prince's "madness" to take the royal throne.
- Miles Gendon -protector and savior of the Prince of Wales. The impoverished nobleman, without knowing it, became a guardian angel for the young king.
- Humphrey Marlowe -beating boy in the royal palace. He became a friend to Tom, and Tom learned a lot about royal orders and palace rituals from this boy.
King Edward regained his crown. He rewarded his friends, took care of the disadvantaged. He ruled the country for a short time. But thanks to the trials that fell to his lot, he became a just king, and the people loved him.
The Prince and the Pauper is Mark Twain's first and most famous historical novel. The piece was created in a Connecticut house and published in Canada in 1881. The first experience was more than successful. In the Soviet Union, the translation of the novel was reprinted several times.
The novel is set in London in the 16th century. A boy appeared in the royal family, whose birth was expected by the whole country. It was the heir to the throne, Prince Edward. At the same time, another boy appeared in the family of the poor, whose birth no one wanted. His name was Tom Kenti.
From the first days of his life, the prince was surrounded by wealth and luxury. Tom Kenti lives in poverty. The boy is constantly physically abused by his father and grandmother. However, Tom does not lose heart. In the slums where the Kenti family live, there is an old priest with whom Tom spends a lot of time. The old man teaches the boy to read, write and even Latin. The priest often tells Tom the legends of kings and princes. Beautiful fairy tales so capture the boy's imagination that he begins to try on the role of heir to the throne. Gradually Tom's friends are drawn into the game. Kenti is the prince and his friends are the retinue.
One day Tom finds himself near the royal palace, behind the gates of which he saw the Prince of Wales. The dream of a little beggar from the Garbage Court to see the real prince has finally come true. The sentry, noticing the boy, throws him into the crowd. The guards' rudeness caught the attention of Prince Edward. The prince stood up for Tom, and then invited him to his chambers. Left alone, the heir to the throne and the beggar suddenly notice that they are very similar to each other. Tom tells Edward about his life, about his father-thief and about his sisters. Poverty seems so romantic to the prince that he invites Kenti to change clothes. Noticing a bruise on the arm of his new friend, the heir to the throne goes to the guard to reprimand him. However, the sentry, mistaking the prince for a "ragamuffin", because of whom he got from His Highness, pushes Edward out of the gate, and the crowd that met him there chases the prince along the road until he is far from the palace.
Tom waited for Edward for a long time in his chambers, but the heir never returned. Kenti tries to get out of the palace on his own, convincing the servants that he is not who they all take him for. The news of the "insanity" of the young prince reaches King Henry, a cruel tyrant and a loving father at the same time. The king is deeply saddened by the sudden illness of his son. He forbids the courtiers to react to the strange behavior of the heir and in any way remind him of his illness.
By chance, Prince Edward ends up in the Garbage Yard, in the family of his twin. The heir to the throne is furious at the way John, Tom's father, treats him. The Kenti family knew of the boy's painful desire to play the role of a prince. That is why when a real prince is already trying to put John Kenty in his place, Tom's father does not cause anything but rage.
The Kenti family were forced to flee the Garbage Yard. John accidentally killed an old priest who stood up for the prince. Taking advantage of the turmoil, Edward leaves his "relatives". He needs to get to the palace, because King Henry died recently. This means that not a legitimate heir can be crowned, but an impostor. However, he will not be able to get to the palace very soon. Edward will have to go through many adventures and hardships.
Real life experience
The heir learns about life common peoplefrom which he was always so far away. He also learns about the cruelty of many English laws, about the injustice towards his poorest subjects. The prince appears devoted friend Miles Gendon, who, from a wealthy family, also fell victim to injustice.
Edward manages to stop Tom Kenti's coronation. Tom does not prevent the rightful heir from returning to the throne. King Edward VI lived a short life, but went down in the history of England as one of the most merciful rulers. The king did not forget to take care of the family of his twin. Tom Kenti lived a long time, until the end of his days enjoying honor and respect.
Tom Kenti
From childhood, Tom was different from his peers. He seemed to live in two worlds at the same time. The real world, in which he had to starve, endure humiliation and insults, was too unlike the radiant, brilliant world that existed in his heart. While all the other children were adapting to the life inherited from their parents, Tom received education in the way he could. Despite a difficult existence, full of hardships, the boy does not blame the king for his troubles, as others do. On the contrary, the images of kings and princes are full of nobility in Tom's eyes.
The real character of the dreamer Kenti is revealed only when he falls into the place of his double. Tom shows wisdom and resourcefulness. He does not seek to take advantage of his new position for personal needs. Tom quickly realizes that life in the palace seems attractive only from the outside.
Prince edward
From birth, Edward lived as the heirs to the throne usually live. What seemed like the ultimate dream to thousands of children in his country was a daily routine for the heir to the throne. Edward lives in a closed world of prosperity and material well-being, not even suspecting the needs of his subjects. Having met his double, the young prince naively asks about the attitude of his sisters towards the servants. Edward does not even think that someone in his country does not have not only servants, but also a piece of bread.
Be sure to read - an American writer whose works have been read by generations of children and adults, and which can distract from any problems and despondency.
Another incredibly fun and easy book is the story of Mark Twain, which depicts the fascinating and almost carefree childhood of the boy Tom.
The character of the prince, like the character of Tom, is revealed only after he is in the place of the poor man. The reader notices in Edward a heightened sense of justice. The heir to the throne, unlike his tyrant father, cannot remain indifferent when a defenseless person is offended in his presence.
Courage and courage are two worthy traits of a young prince. The heir to the throne is not afraid to fight his offenders alone, even knowing that none of his servants will now come to his aid. Living among the poorest strata of the population helped Edward to know himself. After becoming king, he knew exactly what he must do for his most disadvantaged subjects.
The unusual situations in which quite ordinary characters find themselves are at the heart of the novel's success. The stark contrast between the royal palace and the pitiful shacks in the Garbage Yard immediately sparks interest in the book and the desire to read it to the end.
Despite the dark scenes from mid-16th century Londoners, the novel inspires optimism in the reader. Poor Tom's example shows that a person's place of birth and the wealth of his family are not decisive for his future. The main thing is not how others see a person, but how he is in his soul. The little poor man with all his heart fell in love with the world that he himself created. He did not ask himself whether this world was really available to him, he simply lived in a reality created in his soul. And once a daring dream came true ...
After "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" Twain published another book about childhood - "The Prince and the Pauper" (1881). Historical in its content, it acquired the features of realistic reliability not due to the description of the historical Events themselves, but mainly due to the psychological motivation of the child's behavior in certain conditions. This is, first of all, about the resourceful "Prince of Poverty" Tom Kenti, who spoke in the Tudor palace, and only then - about England in the 16th century. That is why Twain emphasized, in his dedication to the book, his historical narration with a fairy tale, legend, insisting on a generalized image of the European Middle Ages.
Ironically over conventional ideas about historical accuracy, the writer perfectly used all the possibilities of his unusual plot. He made Prince Edward see the true life of the people, to understand that the Tudor laws are cruel. The writer introduced the street boy Tom Kenti into the palace, showing that a representative of the people can become the head of state. Considering the Middle Ages an era of barbarism, Twain portrayed the despotic arbitrariness of the monarchist power and the church, convincingly arguing that under feudalism there was no place for social justice. As in his other stories about childhood, Twain poeticizes friendship, opposing the disinterestedness of friendship - the greed and depravity of people in power in the English state. The trust of two adolescent doppelgangers who accidentally meet is opposed to insidious intrigue and suspicion. Little heroes of the story perceive life differently than adults. The main feature of their personality is their love of freedom. This is why Prince Edward Tudor admires Tom so much. He would give his entire kingdom to walk barefoot, to be free. The fairy tale story of two boys born in the same city on the same day, according to Twain's plan, was to become a shame of social laws that proclaim inequality.
While creating the book, Twain read it to his daughters - eight-year-old Susie and six-year-old Clara. His narration not only corresponds to the perception of history at a certain age, but actively influences the development of the child's consciousness and imagination, leaving a lot of room for comparisons and generalizations.
For Twain the satirist, as for any great artist, the versatility, polysemy of paintings and characteristics is important. In the story "The Prince and the Pauper," Twain castigates the Middle Ages, in particular sharply opposes the reactionary role of the church, stigmatizes, obscurantism, talks with angry indignation about medieval torture and jokingly asserts that the hermits should have been educated by arranging performances for them, like schoolchildren. It would be wrong to say that only the fascinating plot of Twain's novel made his work accessible to children, that the deep social meaning of this work remains incomprehensible to them. Twain's outstanding merit lies precisely in the fact that he manages to awaken the reader's desire to understand the social nature of various historical orders, to make his own judgment about what is just and unjust.
The post is inspired by reading the historical novel by Mark Twain "The Prince and the Pauper".
reference
By Mark TwainFull title: "The Prince and the Pauper"
Original language: English
Genre: historical novel
Publication year: 1881
Number of pages (A4): 139
Summary of the historical novel by Mark Twain "The Prince and the Pauper"
Mark Twain's novel is set in medieval England. Tom Kenti's dysfunctional family lives in a poor area of \u200b\u200bthe city. His father drinks, makes Tom beg and beats him for disobedience or insufficient results of his "work". Tom is very fond of English history, loves to read and independently study court manners and customs.One day Tom enters the palace, where he is noticed by a prince who looks remarkably like him. This is the same boy who is burdened by court ceremonies. They decide to change clothes for a while, but the prince jumps out of the palace gate and finds himself on the street in the role of a poor man.
Tom and Edward have changed places: now Tom lives in the palace, and Edward is suffering hardships. Neither one nor the other is satisfied with their position. Tom is weighed down by pomp and luxury, and Edward endures hardship and bullying. Edward sees the hard life of ordinary people, executions for the smallest offenses, crime, the hopelessness of the situation and the lack of rights of a huge number of people. He wants to restore his rights at all costs and alleviate the plight of ordinary people by abolishing harsh laws.
Edward is assisted by a disadvantaged nobleman named Myles Gendon. He was deceived by his own brother, seizing his share of the inheritance and marrying his brother's bride. Miles thinks Edward is insane, but seeks to help him as much as he can. As a result, Edward regains his rights to the throne, convincing the courtiers that he is the rightful heir to the king, and not Tom. Tom gladly surrenders the throne to him and joins his royal retinue. Miles receives permission for his services to sit in the presence of the king.