Chapter XX. The Prince and the hermit. Practice Quiz — The Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter XX. The Prince and the hermit.
Where does Edward flee to at the beginning of Chapter 20?
He flees into a dense forest, hoping to escape his pursuers and find a road.
What does Edward see when he looks through the window of the hermit's hut?
A small room with an earthen floor, a bed of rushes, basic pots and pans, and an aged man kneeling before a candlelit shrine with an open book and a human skull beside him.
How does Edward introduce himself to the hermit?
He knocks on the door and announces, "I am the King," with "placid simplicity."
How does the hermit initially react to Edward's claim of being king?
He welcomes Edward enthusiastically, believing the boy is a monarch who has renounced worldly power to pursue holiness and mortification of the flesh.
What lifestyle does the hermit prescribe for Edward?
Prayer, studying the Book, meditating on worldly follies, eating crusts and herbs, scourging his body with whips, wearing a hair shirt, and drinking only water.
What secret does the hermit reveal to Edward?
He whispers that he is an archangel, claiming he was given that title five years earlier by angels sent from heaven.
What does Edward think to himself when the hermit claims to be an archangel?
"Would God I were with the outlaws again; for lo, now am I the prisoner of a madman!"
Why does the hermit believe he should have been pope?
He says he was told in a dream twenty years ago that he would become pope, but the King dissolved his religious house, casting him out and destroying his destiny.
What historical event does the hermit's backstory reference?
Henry VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries (1536-1541), which closed Catholic religious houses across England.
How does the hermit's behavior change after his hour-long rant?
He becomes gentle and kind — tending Edward's bruises, preparing supper, stroking the boy's cheek, and tucking him into bed lovingly.
What triggers the hermit's shift from kindness to murderous intent?
He asks the sleeping boy what king he is and learns Edward is the King of England and the son of Henry VIII — the king who destroyed his monastery.
What does the hermit search for after learning Edward's parentage?
A rusty old butcher knife and a whetstone.
Why does the hermit decide not to kill Edward immediately?
He decides it is "long past midnight" and fears that if the boy cries out, someone passing by might hear.
How does the hermit restrain Edward at the end of the chapter?
He ties Edward's ankles together, then his wrists when the boy crosses his hands in sleep, and binds a bandage under his chin and over his head — all so gently that Edward does not wake.
What is ironic about the hermit being the first person to believe Edward is king?
It is ironic because the hermit's acceptance of Edward's claim comes from insanity, not clear-sightedness — he believes himself an archangel, so accepting a ragged boy as king seems perfectly normal to him.
What theme does the hermit's outward piety versus inner madness illustrate?
The theme of appearances versus reality — the hermit looks like a holy, trustworthy figure but is actually dangerously insane.
How does Twain build Gothic atmosphere in Chapter 20?
Through the dark forest with ghostly sounds, the hermit's hut with a human skull and candlelit shrine, gleaming eyes, the knife-sharpening scene, and the moaning wind at night.
What literary device is at work when Edward sleeps peacefully while the hermit sharpens a knife nearby?
Dramatic irony — the reader knows about the mortal danger, but Edward is oblivious, even smiling in his dreams.
What does the hermit mean when he says he walks "in the courts of heaven"?
He claims to travel to heaven and back instantaneously, and to have spoken with biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — all part of his delusion of being an archangel.
How does Chapter 20 illustrate the theme of the consequences of power?
Henry VIII's political decision to dissolve the monasteries created the hermit's madness, which now threatens Henry's own son — showing that the consequences of power can circle back to harm the powerful.