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.

• This 8-minute video from CBS Sunday Morning features interviews with several historians on the topic of Reconstruction.
• This 10-minute video from PBS explores income disparity during America’s Gilded Age.

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.