Question

In the first paragraph, the narrator says, " [The Hydrophobic Skunk] is so rare that nobody ever saw him--that is, nobody except a native. " Why is it that only natives have ever seen the hydrophobic Skunk? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Answer 1

Only natives have ever seen the hydrophobic skunk because it is probably just a myth.

Step-by-step explanation:

Irvin S. Cobb (1876-1944) was an American humorist and author. The story "The Hydrophobic Skunk" is filled with sarcasm and wit.

Right from the beginning, we are told that no one has ever seen a hydrophobic skunk. That is, no one except the natives who live around the Grand Canyon. However, the way the narrator describes it makes it seem that it is all a lie, a legend:

"I met plenty of tourists who had seen people who had see him, but never a tourist who had seen him with his own eyes."

This is clearly not just a rare animal, for rare animals are seen by someone. This is a mythical creature, a figment of someone's imagination, since no one ever sees it. They claim to know someone who has seen it, but nobody ever claims to have seen it themselves.