Question

Read the following excerpt from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain.

No girl could withstand his charms. He "cut out" every boy in the village. When his boat blew up at last, it diffused a tranquil contentment among us such as we had not known for months. But when he came home the next week, alive, renowned, and appeared in church all battered up and bandaged, a shining hero, stared at and wondered over by everybody, it seemed to us that the partiality of Providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism.


How does Twain's use of understatement help serve his purpose? Be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.

Answer 1

Mark Twain's understatement injects humor and irony into the passage from Life on the Mississippi, providing a comical view on the relieved reaction to a character's failure and critiquing the perceived favoritism of fortune towards the undeserving.

Step-by-step explanation:

Mark Twain's use of understatement in the excerpt from Life on the Mississippi serves his purpose by employing a subtle dose of humor and irony to describe a situation that would ordinarily be considered tragic. The line "When his boat blew up at last, it diffused a tranquil contentment among us" uses understatement to express feelings of relief in an indirect manner. This comical twist in the passage helps to highlight the conflicted feelings that the community has towards the character, whose failure is met with a sense of unjust satisfaction.

Furthermore, the concluding remark on Providence's partiality to an "undeserving reptile" is a biting understatement that critiques how fortune seems to favor the less deserving. This adds depth to Twain's writing, for it encapsulates his satirical edge and his scrutiny of social attitudes while keeping the tone light and engaging.

Answer 2

"Tranquil contentment among us such as we had not known for months". This passage apparently understates the happiness that the other fellows felt that the obnoxious person was put out of commission, especially since he had been monopolizing all the girls in town. "It seemed to us that the partiality of Providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism" this understatement explains the disgust of his fellow acquaintances of .how his boat blowing up far from putting him out of commission, made him more prominent in the favors of society.