There have, of course, been numerous articles treating the theme of
identity and other related themes in PUDD'NHEAD WILSON.  One minor piece
that I wrote some time ago, "Pudd'nhead Wilson: A Search for Identity,"
(Mark Twain Journal (Summmer 1977), pp. 1-6, bears directly on your
question.  Frederick Anderson's Introduction to a facsimilie edition of
PW (San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Co., 1968) also treats this
question in considerable depth.  And there are many, many more excellen;t
treatments.

Joe McCullough