Anyone can see irony while reading Mark Twain's short story "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg." The town of Hadleyburg has a reputation as the most honest and trustworthy town in the area. It has kept this reputation for more than three generations and is extremely proud to be viewed with such high standards. They want to keep the tradition of possessing this reputation going. Parents teach their children from when they are babies about being honest because the most important thing to the town of Hadyleyburg is to carry on and maintain their established reputation. They keep temptations away from the children to help give their children the characteristic of honesty that would become apart of their very being. The other towns around Hadleyburg were jealous of Hadleyburg's widely known reputation of honesty and their capability to not be corrupted. The generalized theme that is present in the town of Hadleyburg provides imagery that fully explains the high standards that are attained. "Honesty" is the key element within the town, making the refusal to be corrupt very strong.
             A spiteful stranger experiences insult while passing through the usually pleasant town. Little did the town members know, this stranger was devising a plan to corrupt Hadleyburg. The stranger wants to take revenge, affecting everyone in the town. "I will corrupt the town", provides and supports the strangers intentions clearly. The stranger attaches a note to the sack of money that he is leaving by the Richard's home. The note reads, "This is an honest town, an incorruptible town, and I know I can trust it without fear." The Richards are one of the nineteen most respected couples in town. When Mary Richards told her husband Edward about the story of the sack with the mysterious note attached to it. Her husband contemplates the situation at hand and reads the note while saying to his wife, "Why were rich,...