Question

What is satirized in this excerpt from Mark Twain's "The £1,000,000 Bank-Note"?

I was pretty nervous, in fact, pretty badly frightened, though, of course, I was no way in fault; but I knew men well enough to know that when they find they've given a tramp a million-pound bill when they thought it was a one-pounder, they are in a frantic rage against him instead of quarreling with their own near-sightedness, as they ought.

A.
the carelessness and short-tempered nature of British folks
B.
people's willingness to pick quarrels over small matters
C.
the lack of trust and respect Englishmen had for Americans
D.
the nature of people to blame others for their own mistakes or shortcomings
E.
the inability of people to trust others in matters involving money

Answer 1

The Mark Twain excerpt satirizes the human tendency to blame others for their own mistakes, depicted through a protagonist's fear of being wrongly blamed for the confusion over the value of a bank note. The correct option is D. the nature of people to blame others for their own mistakes or shortcomings.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the excerpt from Mark Twain's "The £1,000,000 Bank-Note" the passage satirizes the nature of people to blame others for their own mistakes or shortcomings. Twain humorously illustrates how individuals tend to direct their frustration and anger towards others, rather than acknowledging their own errors. This aspect of human nature is depicted through the panicked thought process of the protagonist who expects blame for a mistake not of his doing, but instead due to the fault of those who mistook the value of the bank note.