Anthony Bontatibus, Jay Chen, Saphira Hu, and Megan Ng
“Then the duke he lets the curtain down, and bows to the people…’What, is it over? Is that all?’ The duke says yes.” (Ch 23) The Royal Nonesuch Play held by the duke and dauphin displays the true act of scamming. They run out completely naked with body paint for a few minutes and end the entire show. Usually, when shows like this take form, the entertainers take hours and hours to show off to their audience. The theme of being conned takes part throughout the entire book. They act this way during the show because they are living such a hard life in general. They both need some type of way to create a living. The only way to do that for themselves is to start conning those around them as a survival technique. The theme of conning is common in the book. It is especially noticeable in this scene.
Duke put “LADIES AND CHILDREN NOT ADMITTED.” at the bottom of the poster. And he thinks this line will fetch the males in Arkansaw come. Because this sentence tells them: only males have this opportunity can see this, cherish this gift! Maybe you think it is a sexual discrimination at that time. But this line may also tell them: the drama will be some low and dirty comedy that woman and children cannot see. Without any expectations, all the males come to the show and laughing loudly. And Duke fools them successfully. This scene tells us once you know someone’s characters weakness, you can really control him.
As Huck’s adventure continues with the duke and the dauphin, he quickly realizes that he is amongst scoundrels. The duke and dauphin’s performance are clear examples that rule breaking is prevalent in this novel. So much so that Huck realizes the severity of their actions, and concludes that they are horrible human beings. Rule breaking, in this case, is significant. Although the duke and dauphin’s acts are considered nefarious, they play an important role in the novel. Although Huck has committed deceptive acts in the past, this scenario has allowed him to realize the consequences of his actions.
The masculine theme in the scene of the Royal Nonesuch is very prevalent. There was a deliberate reason why Mark Twain decided to only include men in this scene, and the reasoning behind this is that men are very prideful and very thickheaded. Instead of advising their friends about being swindled, they would rather protect their pride and convince everybody else that it is worth seeing. The reason only men could be used in this scene is because the way that men are categorized as never showing a sign of weakness, that is why if a female or even a child would have been present, reason would have probably prevailed in the story line the first time the men were duped, instead of the second. “We are sold-mighty badly sold. But we don’t want to be the laughingstock of this whole town, I reckon…Go along home, and advise everybody to come and see the tragedy.”p162 is a quote from the text that exemplify the prideful demeanor of men. This theme that is relevant through the entire novel, the theme of masculinity and how humans are programmed due to the environment that they are raised in.
