Summary of Pudd

            While Tom Driscoll, even though that is not his real last name until the end of the book, was busy being himself, a jerk to everyone, he is all of a sudden taken by surprise when he is told the truth about his real identity. Through Twain's depiction of Tom Driscoll as a round character, it shows in the story of Pudd"nhead Wilson that a person will quickly change their feelings towards others when the facts about their identity change drastically. .
             Tom Driscoll was one of the most cruel and heartless people in the book at the beginning just as he does not change toward the end. When he was younger, he would dig his nails into anyone who came close to him or pound them with his rattle (Twain 76). He had his own slave to follow him around and get him out of trouble, but get his own slave, Chambers, into trouble. "Tom was petted and indulged and spoiled to his entire content" (Twain 84). I feel this was part of his arrogant attitude towards everyone, like he could not do any wrong. Chambers was a man who always did what he was told because of what Judge Driscoll told him when he bought him; which was "Under no provocation whatever are you privileged to lift a hand to your little master" (Twain 78). Tom took great advantage of this as he used to cuff chambers up when they were in babyhood, and he banged him up and scratched him up bad (Twain 77). Once when the boys were 15 and up, some boys that were calling Tom names and teasing him, Tom told Chambers to beat them up. Chambers said he could not do it because there was too many of them so Tom flipped out and stabbed him with a knife (Twain 79). This shows how Tom was a cruel and nasty person before he found out some things he never would have thought. .
             Tom had also had some experiences with Roxy, the other slave that stayed around the house, and was the mother of Tom, which nobody knew yet. He had struck her in the face before and called her a nigger-wench hussy (Twain 81).