Question

At the end of the essay, Twain urges the reader, "Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live." Why do you think he makes this statement? Provide evidence from the text to support your response.

Answer 1

Despite having several accidents, Twain persisted because he realized that his skill was steadily improving. Twain was excited by this learning process:

The steps of one's progress are distinctly marked. At the end of each lesson he knows he has acquired something, and he also knows what that something is, and likewise that it will stay with him.

In the last line, Twain tells his readers that they also could feel the excitement and sense of achievement that he experienced from learning to ride a bicycle. He adds a touch of sarcastic humor by noting that they might die in the attempt.

Step-by-step explanation:

Sample answer

Answer 2

He made this statement because he believed that learning to ride a bicycle was a big challenge and that someone could die doing it, as it had happened before, but riding a bicycle was very pleasant after the individual learned how to handle it.

Step-by-step explanation:

Samuel Clemens died riding a bicycle, before Mark Twain wrote the passage shown in the question above. It is likely that Twain made a reference to this incident, but with the characteristic humor of his works.

Twain understood that riding a bike was a big challenge, it required a lot of control and balance, and that at any moment an individual could lose control of the bike by fatally injuring himself, however, he believed that the bike rides were very pleasant and that no one would stay sorry to have such a ride, if they survived, of course.