Question

My father was a justice of the peace, and I supposed he possessed the power of life and death over all men and could hang anybody that offended him. This was distinction enough for me as a general thing but the desire to be a steamboatman kept intruding, nevertheless. I first wanted to be a cabin-boy, so that I could come out with a white apron on and shake a tablecloth over the side, where all my old comrades coulds me; later I thought I would rather be the deckhand who stood on the end of the stage-plank with the coll of rope in his hand, because he was particularly conspicuous. But these were only day-dreams,-they were too heavenly to be contemplated as real possibilities. By and by one of our boys went away. He was not heard of for a long time. At last he turned up as apprentice engineer or 'striker' on a steamboat. This thing shook the bottom out of all my Sunday-school teachings. That boy had been notoriously worldly, and I just the reverse; yet he was exalted to this eminence, and I left in obscurity and misery. There was nothing generous about this ellow in his greatness. He would always manage to have a rusty bolt to scrub while his boat tarried at our town, and he would sit on the inside guard scrub it, where we could all see him and envy him and loathe him. And whenever his boat was laid up he would come home and swell around the town in his blackest and greasiest clothes, so that nobody could help remembering that he was a steamboatman; and he used all sorts of steamboat technicalities in his talk, as if he were so used to them that he forgot common people could not understand them. (from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain)

Based on the passage, which is the greatest reward of getting a job on a steamboat?

1. making the other boys jealous
2. escaping small town boredom
3. getting away from a demanding father
4. experiencing adventure on the river​

Answer 1

The protagonist aspires to work on a steamboat for the social status and recognition it would afford him, indicating that the greatest reward of such employment is the distinction and admiration from others.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on the passage from Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, the greatest reward of getting a job on a steamboat is the distinction and admiration one receives, seen through the envy of the protagonist's 'old comrades' and his own desire to be conspicuous while working on the steamboat. This desire eclipses his previous contentment with his father's status and reflects his longing for recognition and the chance to stand out in his community.

The protagonist fantasizes about various roles on a steamboat, each more visible and prestigious than the last, indicating that his ultimate goal is the social status that comes from obtaining such a job. However, his admiration turns to bitterness when a peer achieves this dream, and the protagonist is left feeling that his virtuous life did not yield the rewards he feels it should have.