Final answer:
The best description of how an author's use of multiple narrators develops the meaning of the story is that it allows the reader to witness multiple characters' views on deception. This technique provides intimate insight into each character and forces the reader to navigate through biased narratives to understand the full story.
Step-by-step explanation:
The use of multiple narrators in a text often serves to provide a more complex and nuanced understanding of the narrative. These narrators deliver distinct perspectives, reflecting their own biases and limited knowledge, which in turn challenges the reader to consider multiple versions of the 'truth' within the story. In this context, the correct answer is D: It allows the reader to witness multiple characters' views on deception. This choice reflects how multiple first-person narratives offer varied viewpoints, emphasizing the subjective nature of each character's understanding of the events. This narrative technique not only adds depth to the meaning of the story but also engages the reader in critical analysis of the differing viewpoints presented.
When individual characters in the story serve as narrators, their first-person accounts provide an intimate insight into the characters, which might not be possible with a third-person omniscient narrator. However, because each narrator can only speak from their individual experience and knowledge, their narratives are inherently biased. These biases necessitate that readers actively parse through the various accounts to derive a coherent understanding of the story, thus deepening their engagement and interaction with the text. Additionally, the dialogue used by Twain also establishes the authenticity of the narrative, adding a layer of realism for the reader.