Exploring the Text

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  1. What kind of a student is young Mark Twain as he portrays himself in the first chapter, “Perplexing Lessons”? Consider his interactions with both Mr. Bixby and Mr. W.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What kind of a student is young Mark Twain as he portrays himself in the first chapter, “Perplexing Lessons”? Consider his interactions with both Mr. Bixby and Mr. W.
  2. Twain explains in a footnote that Mr. Bixby uses the term “learn” instead of “teach” because the latter is “not in the river vocabulary”; for example, Bixby states, “When I say I’ll learn a man the river, I mean it” (par. 44). What does this distinction say about Bixby’s attitude toward the process of education on the river?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Twain explains in a footnote that Mr. Bixby uses the term “learn” instead of “teach” because the latter is “not in the river vocabulary”; for example, Bixby states, “When I say I’ll learn a man the river, I mean it” (par. 44). What does this distinction say about Bixby’s attitude toward the process of education on the river?
  3. Throughout these two chapters, Twain focuses on his early education as an apprentice steamboat pilot. What are the primary lessons he learns from Bixby? How would you describe Bixby’s teaching methods? What, for instance, does he mean when he explains the necessity of knowing “all the million trifling variations of shape in the banks of this interminable river…better than any man ever did know the shapes of the halls in his own house” (pars. 8–9)?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Throughout these two chapters, Twain focuses on his early education as an apprentice steamboat pilot. What are the primary lessons he learns from Bixby? How would you describe Bixby’s teaching methods? What, for instance, does he mean when he explains the necessity of knowing “all the million trifling variations of shape in the banks of this interminable river…better than any man ever did know the shapes of the halls in his own house” (pars. 8–9)?
  4. Known for his biting wit and satire, Twain once wrote, “Humor is the good natured side of a truth.” Do you see evidence of such use of humor in Life on the Mississippi? Find at least three examples of humor in this excerpt, including both sharp and gentle, and discuss what effect(s) Twain achieves through humor. How does Twain use it to express his version of the truth?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Known for his biting wit and satire, Twain once wrote, “Humor is the good natured side of a truth.” Do you see evidence of such use of humor in Life on the Mississippi? Find at least three examples of humor in this excerpt, including both sharp and gentle, and discuss what effect(s) Twain achieves through humor. How does Twain use it to express his version of the truth?
  5. Twain portrays the Mississippi River as a character as much as he portrays Mr. Bixby, Mr. W., and others. What are the qualities of this character? What is Twain’s attitude toward “her,” as he refers to the river? Do you think he is romanticizing the river and the surrounding community and environment?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Twain portrays the Mississippi River as a character as much as he portrays Mr. Bixby, Mr. W., and others. What are the qualities of this character? What is Twain’s attitude toward “her,” as he refers to the river? Do you think he is romanticizing the river and the surrounding community and environment?
  6. What does Twain mean when he writes, “The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book” (par. 79)? What details does he offer to expand on and explore this metaphor?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What does Twain mean when he writes, “The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book” (par. 79)? What details does he offer to expand on and explore this metaphor?
  7. Why does Twain believe that once he “had mastered the language of this water…[a]ll the grace, the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river” (par. 80)?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Why does Twain believe that once he “had mastered the language of this water…[a]ll the grace, the beauty, the poetry, had gone out of the majestic river” (par. 80)?
  8. Like all memoir, these two chapters include the voice of the young remembered self along with that of the more mature remembering self. What are the different narrative strategies of each of these voices? Consider dialogue, action, reflection, and tone in your response.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Like all memoir, these two chapters include the voice of the young remembered self along with that of the more mature remembering self. What are the different narrative strategies of each of these voices? Consider dialogue, action, reflection, and tone in your response.