Question

How does Twain use an idiom in this excerpt from 'Life on the Mississippi' by Mark Twain: 'I went meekly aboard a few of the boats that lay packed together like sardines at the long St. Louis wharf, and humbly inquired for the pilots, but got only a cold shoulder and short words from mates and clerks'?

1) To show a contrast between Twain's expectation and the reality of the situation
2) To describe the way that the mates and clerks tapped Twain on the shoulder
3) To compare two unlike things, boats and sardines, by using the word 'like'
4) To show how Twain was deliberately made to feel unwelcome

Answer 1

Twain uses the idiom 'like sardines' to compare the closely packed boats at the wharf to sardines.

Step-by-step explanation:

The idiom in the excerpt from 'Life on the Mississippi' by Mark Twain is:

'lay packed together like sardines'

This idiom is used to compare the boats to sardines, emphasizing how closely packed they are at the wharf. It creates a vivid image in the reader's mind of the crowded and cramped conditions.

The correct answer to the student's question is option 3) To compare two unlike things, boats and sardines, by using the word 'like'.