Royalty

Will Landschulz
Am Lit per. 2
Mrs. LaMagdeleine

The characters of the Duke and the King in this chapter are quite suspicious to me.  I don't trust them.  Their "alasses," their half-baked lamentations of their lot in life, their use of royal language ("…and say 'Your grace,' [etc., etc.]" "give us your hand, Duke." [emphasis mine]), all could be considered convincing, or at least convincing enough for the people they meet on the Mississippi.  However, it is quickly obvious that they are nothing but charlatans.  For example, any self-respecting first-gen Frenchman, as the King claims he is, would A) have a French accent and B) pronounce his mother's name correctly (ann - twa - net rather than Ann - tuh - net).  Also, "Looy"?  There need to be two syllables rather than the implied one.  The Duke has also gotten himself experience as an actor, through his acts as "Dr. Armand" and "Garrick the Younger."  Interesting.  However, he does not know the famous soliloquy of Hamlet.  Therefore, he dilutes the meaning and strengthens his mediocrity by mixing in random lines from Macbeth, Richard III, and other scenes of Hamlet.  I know the soliloquy of Hamlet, for crying out loud.  Unfortunately, I don't think Huck and Jim have any choice but to trust them.  They know about Jim, and could easily betray him to slave traders passing through.  These slave traders would know about Jim's master, Mrs. Watson.  And Huck would follow the traders, or be trapped into the Duke and the King's service.  Wait - they don't seem as smart as to trap Huck.  One parting note: a man can call himself a dolphin, but that doesn't make it true.