Who David Wilson is
David Wilson comes from New York to Dawson's Landing, a small Missouri town on the Mississippi. A joke on his first day leads the townspeople to mistake his cleverness for foolishness. They give him the nickname Pudd'nhead, and their judgment leaves him with almost no legal clients.
David Wilson and the others in the story
Wilson takes the town's mockery calmly, but its opinion shapes his place in the community for years. His neighbors also consider his fingerprint collection foolish, repeating the judgment they make about his joke. When the Italian twins Luigi and Angelo Capello arrive, Wilson takes their fingerprints for his collection.
How David Wilson changes
With little legal work, Wilson fills his days by recording fingerprints on glass slides labeled with names and dates. His calendar sayings give him a voice, offering dry observations about habit, human nature and folly. While the town trusts familiar labels, his collection points toward a different way of knowing people through evidence.
Best-known lines
“Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond; cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.”
“October 12, the Discovery. It was wonderful to find America, but it would have been more wonderful to miss it.”
Questions
Why is David Wilson called Pudd'nhead?
The townspeople give him the nickname because they cannot understand his joke about a barking dog. They take the joke as evidence that he is a fool.
What does David Wilson collect?
He collects his neighbors' fingerprints on small glass slides, recording a name and date for each.
