I chose this quote because I think that it says a lot about what the prince and the pauper both expected to happen when they traded places. The prince thought that he was going to have this wonderful experience being able to do whatever he wanted without having to be royalty anymore but still being recognized as the prince. However, he soon realizes that since the people no longer see him as the prince, the is treated with no respect and pushed out of the way. The pauper thinks that he will be able to live his dream of becoming royalty and that he will enjoy this life more than the life that he had before. But once he is in the position of royalty, it is much different than how he had imagined it. Especially since no one can tell the difference between the two boys.
They both end up in positions that they don't enjoy being in, and I think that this quote sets up the rest of the book in the sense that both boys are no longer in their niches. Neither one of them has been treated the way they are now treated and Twain seems to poke fun at the fact that sometimes when we get what we want, we realize that we don't really want it anymore.
Yes the idea of personal freedom is very important in this book. Both tom and edward have dreams of being in the others position and being free and able to do as they please. But when they actually do trade places both find that they are still not free and must live within the world and confines of their positions in society. Tom finds that he must stay in the royal apartments and cannot go freely wandering around as he imagined. Edward finds that he is far from free and controlled by the Tom's father John Canty.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your post. I think this quote sets up the entire book in terms of the reality of both situations. Both boys think that switching places willl make their lives easier, but instead it is actually much harder, and less fun than they had originally thought. But after reading the book, I must say that Tom Canty did get a much better deal than Edward.
ReplyDeleteI agree. This quote does set up the rest of the book and Twain uses it to comment on expectations vs. reality. The prince and the pauper both expected something very different than their real experiences. I think both boys learned useful life lessons.
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