The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

by

Mark Twain

One of Hadleyburg’s Nineteeners. Mr. Cox is the “editor-proprietor” of the local newspaper. When Edward Richards rushes out into the night to spread word of the stranger’s mysterious sack of gold, he finds Mr. Cox and tells him to print the story. Later that night, both Edward and Cox come upon each other once more in the streets, both headed back to the newspaper offices to intercept the story, for they have both decided in private that they should keep the gold to themselves. However, when they reach the offices, they find that the papers have already been shipped. This episode portrays Mr. Cox as a man who is just as dishonest and morally corruptible as Edward Richards. In keeping with this, he is later publicly humiliated with the rest of the Nineteeners.
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Mr. Cox Character Timeline in The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Cox appears in The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Section 1
Vanity and Virtue Theme Icon
Revenge and Redemption Theme Icon
Outsiders and Insularity Theme Icon
...for us.” With this, he rushes off to the printing-office, where he tells the publisher, Mr. Cox , about the ordeal. When he returns home, he and his wife make guesses as... (full context)
Vanity and Virtue Theme Icon
Revenge and Redemption Theme Icon
...part, stands up, puts on his hat, and rushes into the street, where he meets Mr. Cox , who—like him—is rushing to the printing-office. In the same way that Edward discussed the... (full context)
Vanity and Virtue Theme Icon
Guilt and Shame Theme Icon
Just when Edward and Mr. Cox decide to intercept the message they’ve already delivered to the printing-offices, a young boy who... (full context)