Letter From Charles Chestnut to Mark Twain

Dear Mr. Twain,

I just finished reading a copy of your story Pudd’nhead Wilson and I was impressed with your portrayal of the arbitrariness of racial classification in America. As a Negro and someone who has written about race in today’s society, I am very familiar with how uncritical notions of race have hindered the progress of American Negros. Interestingly, your book made it very clear to me that members of the white race are also aware of the contradictory aspects of assigning racial categories based on physical appearance.

Whether intentional or unintentional, inherent in your story is an important critique of racial classification. As you show in your description of the switching of Tom and Chambers at infancy, race is not simply a biological fact but is actually shaped by one’s environment. For example, although Chambers was of mixed African and white American ancestry, he and Tom looked a great deal a like. As a result, when Chambers’s mother Roxy successfully swapped him with the master’s son Tom in an effort to prevent her children from being sold, Chambers developed all of the characteristics of a white wealthy slave owning heir.

Mr. Twain, I am writing to you because I am interested in learning more about how you gained inspiration for the characters and plot of your story. I must say that I am intrigued that a member of the white race wrote this story. I am interested in learning more about your specific thoughts on race in today’s society. The fact that members of the white race have also noticed the contradictions inherent in racial categorization makes me hopeful that Negros and whites can join forces to challenge false assumptions about members of the Negro race.

Once again, I greatly appreciate your story and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Charles Chestnut

Questions:

1) Charles Chestnut’s and Mark Twain’s pieces are from the 1890s. In many ways, both authors are calling racial classification into question by exploring the arbitrariness of racial identity during the 19^th century. Furthermore, both authors demonstrate that questions about race as a social construction (even if they did not use these specific terms) existed during the late 19^th century. How have these works encouraged you to reconsider how popular and academic opinions about race have been historicized?

2) In addition, in Pudd’nhead Wilson, Roxy is a fairly dynamic character. How does she compare to the Sally Hemings that Annette Gordon describes in The Hemings of Monticello. Is the fact that a black woman was a prominent character in a book written by a white man during the late 19^th century significant?