Pudd'nhead Wilson Conclusion Summary

  • Short and sweet: The narrator briefly fills us in on the aftermath of the trial.
  • The town is in total awe over everything that went down at the trial. They wonder when Tom's trial is going to start.
  • Three cheers for David Wilson who is now the town hero and will never again be called the P-word.
  • Arrivederci: the twins go back to Europe.
  • Poor Roxy. We're told that "[her] heart was broken." Even though Chambers (i.e. the "real" Tom) gives her money each month, she's so depressed that she can only find comfort in the church.
  • And speaking of Chambers, he's not in such great shape either. He can't read or write and has the manners of a slave so he's pretty out of place among white folks. But his former slave friends aren't too welcoming of him either.
  • As for Tom, he confessed to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Pretty bad, right?
  • Actually, it gets worse: it turns out Driscoll had some debts so his creditors claimed that Tom, as a slave, was now their property.
  • The creditors appealed to the governor who agreed that putting a valuable slave away for life would kind of be a waste. So he pardoned Tom and the creditors Sold Him Down the River.
  • How's that for karma?