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Chapter 1
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Prince and the Pauper, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Appearances vs. Reality
Wealth, Poverty, and Morality
Justice
Nature vs. Nurture
Summary
Analysis
A few years pass. London is large and busy, full of dirty, narrow streets and rickety houses. Tom Canty lives in Offal Court near London Bridge. It’s full of some of London’s poorest families, and the Canty family—Tom, his father John Canty, his mother, his grandmother Grammer Canty, and his twin sisters, Nan and Bet—is packed into one room on the third floor of an old house. There is only one bed for John and his wife; the rest of the family sleeps on the floor. John and Grammer Canty are both beggars and thieves who force the children to go begging, too. Among the residents of the Court is Father Andrew, a priest who was turned out his former job and now survives on a small pension. Father teaches the Canty children about morality. Additionally, he teaches Tom how to read and write (including some Latin).
In the 16th century, education was very expensive, so most lower-class families weren’t able to put their children in school (in fact, schools weren’t particularly popular; rich families hired tutors that specialize in different subjects). Tom’s early education sets him apart from most kids his age and even his own family. Perhaps more importantly, Father Andrew teaches Tom about morality, which helps motivate Tom to set his sights on something higher than being a beggar or thief like his father.
Themes
Although Offal Court is full of hunger, fighting, and drinking, Tom’s early childhood wasn’t entirely unhappy. John and Grammer often beat Tom for not bringing home money from begging, but his life was just like every other young boy’s in the Court and so he thought it was natural. Whenever Tom’s mother could, she would sneak him scraps of food from her plate, although John would beat her for it. Tom spends a lot of time listening to Father Andrew’s stories about castles, kings, princes, and giants. At night, Tom dreams of what life in a palace is like and wishes he could see a prince just once. This makes him more aware of how dirty and shabby his clothes are and he starts spending more time bathing in the Thames. Tom starts imitating the speech and manners of royalty, which impresses young and old people alike in Offal Court.
Tom is surrounded by misery and crime (in fact, he learns to connect crime with misery), but he finds an escape from all it in Father Andrew’s stories. Furthermore, Tom learns about selflessness and devotion from his mother, who puts her own self at risk to make him more comfortable. Because Tom has these two positive influences, he doesn’t follow in his father’s footsteps by becoming a thief.
Themes
Literary Devices
Tom organizes a mock royal court, and his friends all play along until they have to go begging. But Tom’s wish to see a prince becomes an all-consuming, ever-present thought. One day in January, after trudging around all day in the rain and hungering after meat pies that he’s never been able to afford, Tom returns home soaked through from the rain and covered in mud. Even John and Grammer are moved by how sad Tom looks and they refrain from beating him as roughly as they normally would. All night Tom dreams of royal courts full of lords and ladies. When he wakes up the next morning, he is heartbroken to realize that the memory of these dreams makes his surroundings seem even more wretched than the day before.
Although Tom finds comfort and escape in the stories about royalty and palace life, eventually it haunts him and makes living in the filthy slums and among criminals that much harder. This is because at the time, a person’s birth determined their place in society. Even though Tom is educated, he knows that nobody will ever see him as more than a beggar and so he’ll never be allowed into the upper echelons of society.
Themes
