Those Extraordinary Twins

The novella revolves around two conjoined twins Luigi and Angelo Capello who are born to an African American slave mother in a small Missouri town. While Angelo is portrayed as intelligent charismatic and possessing extraordinary abilities Luigi is depicted as physically weak and mentally impaired. The story explores themes of race identity and the nature of human perception. Twain uses the twins as a vehicle to satirize racial stereotypes and challenge societal norms and prejudices. Through the contrasting characters of Luigi and Angelo Twain criticizes the superficial judgments people make based on appearance and questions the notion of superiority or inferiority based on race. Those Extraordinary Twins has received relatively little attention compared to some of Twains other works such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. However it offers readers an intriguing exploration of race and the power of perception in American society during Twains time. Its important to note that Mark Twains writings including Those Extraordinary Twins reflect the attitudes and language prevalent in the 19th century. Twains portrayal of African American characters and his use of racial language have been points of criticism and analysis and discussions around these aspects continue to this day.