Switching the Lens

A few days ago I stumbled upon an interesting Ted Talk by a Harvard professor named Shawn Achor. The Ted Talk, which was titled The Happy Secret to Better Work, was a discussion of positivity’s effect on human performance. In his presentation Achor proposes, “It is not necessarily the reality that shapes us, but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality.” This notion suggests that people are not a product of their environment but rather a product of how their brain perceives the world around them. Implying that by “switching the lens,” a person may have the ability to reshape the outcome of a situation. Examples that validate Achor’s claims can perhaps be found in a number of places, however, for the purpose of this discussion I would like to focus on how both a person’s internal perceptions of the world, as well as the influence of external factors help to shape an individual’s “reality” and how examples of this idea are represented in Mark Twain’s novel, Puddn’head Wilson.

In the beginning of the novel, Roxy, the mother of the main character Chambers, is under the impression that the only way to save her son from being “sold down the river” is to kill both herself and him. Feeling that there is no way out she says, “Oh, I got to kill my chile, dey ain’t no yuther way, - killin’ him wouldn’t save de chile fum goin’ down de river. Oh, I got to do it, yo’ po’ mammy’s got to kill you to save you, honey’…” (Twain 69). This demonstrates Roxy’s initial perception of her reality and the belief that the only way to escape an inevitable fate is through death.

Later after putting her son Chambers in the clothes of her master’s son Tom Driscoll, she realizes the similarities between the two boys and decides to switch them. “Now who would b’lieve clo’es could do de like o’ dat? Dog my cats if it ain’t all I kin do to tell t’ other fum which, let alone his pappy” (Twain 71). Roxy believes that her son Chambers will not be sold down the river on account of being perceived as “black” and is convinced that he will have the chance to be successful and find opportunity in society under the identity of Tom Driscoll. The irony is that the lens through which Roxy views the world leads her to believe that switching the children will solve the problem and save her son from his destiny, however, the fact is that when the truth is exposed and society learns that Tom (Chambers) is “colored,” he ends up getting sold into slavery down the river anyways.

In the middle of the book, upon hearing the truth about his family lineage from his mother Roxy, Tom begins to question his own “reality” for the first time. He begins asking himself “Why were niggers and whites made? What crime did the uncreated first nigger commit that the curse of birth was decreed for him? And why is this awful difference made between white and black?” (Twain 117). This explores Tom’s initial perception of his reality and demonstrates how that perception of reality is turned upside down when Tom discovers that he is a “nigger.” The lens through which Tom initially perceives the world was one of privilege and power, a viewpoint that was shaped during his childhood by the actions of those around him. Later the external perceptions of what it means to be “black” force Tom to fear for his entire social welfare and ultimately to recognize the irony of his own existence.

Fundamentally, an individual’s “reality” is shaped by both their internal perception of the world around them, as well as by the influence of the external environment in which they live. Twain’s novel Puddn’head Wilson helps us to better understand these individual perceptions of reality and criticize the ways in which these perceptions are formed. By working to expose the influence that these factors have on shaping an individual’s identity in society, Twain ultimately sheds light on the irony of the human condition and the ways in which society must change in order to have a better future. 

Works Cited

Twain, Mark. Pudd'nhead Wilson ; And, Those Extraordinary Twins. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986. Print.