89 pages • 2 hours read
Mark TwainA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.
Short Answer
1. What happened in the American South during the era of Reconstruction? What was America’s “Gilded Age”? How might a person committed to human equality react to living through these two eras?
Teaching Suggestion: The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson’s humor takes aim at racial and financial inequality, reflecting Mark Twain’s frustration at the failures of Reconstruction and the excesses of the Gilded Age. Students are more likely to understand his intentions with some historical background knowledge, through review, investigation, or direct instruction. If your students have little knowledge about these aspects of US history, you might offer them the resources below before they write about or discuss this prompt.
2. What have you already read by Mark Twain? What are some characteristics of Mark Twain’s writing style?
Teaching Suggestion: Because The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson is not generally among the first Twain texts students encounter, this question assumes some familiarity with Twain’s work.
By Mark Twain
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Mark Twain
A True Story
A True Story
Mark Twain
Letters from the Earth
Letters from the Earth
Mark Twain
Life on the Mississippi
Life on the Mississippi
Mark Twain
Roughing It
Roughing It
Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mark Twain
The Autobiography of Mark Twain
The Autobiography of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Mark Twain
The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today
Mark Twain, Charles Dudley Warner
The Innocents Abroad
The Innocents Abroad
Mark Twain
The Invalid's Story
The Invalid's Story
Mark Twain
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg
Mark Twain
The Mysterious Stranger
The Mysterious Stranger
Mark Twain
The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain
The War Prayer
The War Prayer
Mark Twain