Wilson's Epigraphs

We briefly talked about Wilson's epigraphs before each chapter in class yesterday, discussing how it shows the resemblance between Wilson and Twain. Since it was not a major point of discussion, though, with the entire novel, I thought I'd share my opinions and thoughts on them.

Many of these statements remind me of Benjamin Franklin and some of his witty and insightful quotes. One of Wilson's Calendar quotes really emphasizes the theme of Nature vs. Nurture. One page 22, the first epigraph states "Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education". I think this could provide some insight on Twain's opinion of whether Tom's actions and behaviors were from his nature or from how he was raised. I think this quote is funny because we could even go as far as to call Tom a cabbage (maybe I'm stretching this a little too much, but just go with me here). The main difference between Tom and Chambers was how they were raised and the type of education they received. Tom received a great deal of education while Chambers received none. So, Wilson (or, rather, Twain) is saying that they both are cabbage, but Tom is thought to be the more sophisticated cauliflower just because of his education and how he was nurtured. This probably is an overstatement and taking the epigraph too literally, but I found it amusing. Taking a step back, though, I think Twain is taking more of a stand on nurture rather than nature because he is emphasizing the importance of training in one's life.

Another epigraph that could relate to the nature vs. nurture question is found on page 26, Chapter 6. "Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed down-stairs a step at a time". Habits form from how a person is raised and the environment one is surrounded with. Thus, I think there is an emphasis here on how influential nurture is and how it isn't something that can be "flung out of the window" and given up easily.

I may be beating a dead horse, trying to bring up the debate of nature vs. nurture again. But I thought that if we took Wilson's epigraphs into consideration and looked further, we may be a better understanding of what Twain thought of the issue, since we had discussed the epigraphs highlighting more of Twain's mindset.