Prince Edward Tudor And Tom Canty example essay topic

Switching Places The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain was a fun book to read, but it didn't match the normal profile of a Mark Twain novel. Everything that I have read by him was set in the Mississippi River Valley before the Civil War. The Prince and the Pauper was set in sixteenth century England. The story revolves around a Prince and a Pauper if you can imagine that. Both Prince Edward Tudor and Tom Canty were born on the same day. Edward was welcome by the whole country as an heir to the throne, but Tom's family didn't want him because they were too poor as it was.

The book mentions this and then keeps to the boys teenage years. Tom grew up in Offal Court. He had a very tough life. His dad made him go out on the streets and beg all day and if he didn't get enough money his father and grandmother would beat him. If he thought he raised enough money for a day, he would go to Father Andrew's church and learn to read and speak Latin. Tom's biggest wish was to see a real prince dressed like royalty.

He got this wish one day when he was walking by the king's palace and saw a boy his own age. He got closer to the fence and a guard grabbed him and pushed him away. The prince saw all of this and told the guard to let Tom in the palace. Prince Edward fed Tom and the started talking about each other's lives and switched clothes. Then, Edward noticed the bruise on Tom's hand and went to punish the guard. Dressed in Tom's old clothes, the prince was thrown out of the palace by the guard.

Tom was suddenly Edward, Prince of Wales and Edward, Tom Canty of Offal Court. Tom was not refined enough to be a prince. While at state dinners, he had no clue what to do and just began to stress out King Henry. Tom' father found Edward and took him home and beat him because he hadn't collected enough money from begging. He kept proclaiming that he was the Prince of Wales, but no one believed him.

That night, Tom's father found out he was wanted for murder and began to run. Edward was then able to escape. Edward continued to try and convince people he was the real Prince of Wales. He met Miles Hendon who defended Edward's story in public, but didn't believe it.

Miles took Edward home with him. On the way to Miles's home, Edward go the news that King Henry V, his father, died. Miles treated Edward like a king; eventhough, he didn't believe he really was a king. Edward dubbed Miles a knight. When they arrived at Hendon Hall, Miles's home for which he hadn't been in seven years, they found out Miles's father was dead, his brother was in charge of the family business, and his love was married to his brother and refused to see Miles.

Hugh, Miles's brother, had Miles and Edward thrown in prison saying that they were beggars. While in prison, Edward realized how bad and inhuman the British justice system was. Miles was sentenced to be humiliated. This upset Edward and he was bound to change things if he could ever get his crown back.

At first, Tom couldn't wait for Edward to get back, but as the days went on Tom got more and more comfortable with being King Edward with the coronation fast approaching. As Tom was to be crowned at Westminster Abbey, Edward stepped out and said, "I am the King!" Tom jumped off the throne and was going to let Edward take his rightful place as King of England. No one in the church believed him, but they had a test to prove who was the prince or now king and who was the pauper. The great seal had been missing for weeks and the Prince of Wales should know where it was.

Edward found it and was immediately crowned as King Edward VI. Because of his past on the streets, King Edward ruled for his people and was loved. He didn't live for very much longer, but he made Miles the Earl of Kent, stripped Miles's brother of everything he had and cast him into prison, and Tom Canty was designated as Chief Governor of Christ's hospital, which was a place for orphans and children of the poor to go get food and learn. He was extremely missed after dying. I really enjoyed this book. I don't know what it is about Mark Twain, but I really enjoy every book he wrote.

I saw Disney's the Prince and the Pauper as a child and I guess that is what got me first interested in it. I would strongly recommend this book to someone. I think part of the reason I enjoyed it was that he let me experience the royal life and the very poor life with a little history at the same time.