Mark Twain and Regionalism Study Guide

What wonderful memory does the narrator have from his first days on a steamboat?

A beautiful sunset

What does Twain's humorous tone in the voice of this excerpt suggest about his opinion of himself? "I had my own opinion of the pilot who had known no better than to get us into such peril but I was too wise to express it"

He does not take himself too seriously

Why did Bixby shout and swear at the crew of the trading scow?

He was furious at Twain and needed to shout

Describe the bet Smiley makes concerning Parson Walker's wife.

Parson Walker's wife was seriously ill for a long time. When the Parson reports that she is recovering, Smiley bets that she will not really get better (lines 51-56)

What must a pilot do to steer the steamboat upstream?

Pilots going upstream must stay close to the shore, where there is "easy water," and they must not go against the strong current in the middle of the river (lines 33-36)

Give one reason why Twain's mother refused to believe his confession:

Possible answers: (a) She said a child could not have made up the visions he saw (lines 251-252) (b) She believed Dr. Peake's claim that Twain could not have known about the fire and cannonball (lines 255-257) (c) She said that a child could not have hidden the pain of being stuck with a pin (lines 274-275)

How do you know that Twain believed in the mesmerizer at first?

At first Twain held the magic disk and really tried to go to sleep as the others in the audience had (lines 21-22)

Which is the best paraphrase of the CAPITALIZED hyperbole in the following excerpt? "I EITHER CAME NEAR CHIPPING OFF THE EDGE OF A SUGAR PLANTATION, or I yawed too fr from shore, and so dropped back into disgrace again and got abused."

He almost hit the shore of a sugar plantation

How is Simmons' comment that he could have stopped Twain from attacking the school bully dramatic irony?

Simmons was not in control of Twain's actions.

How does Smiley's mare win races?

Smiley's mare gets a head start (lines 60-61) but becomes desperate and excited when other horses pass her; this situation makes her run faster and win (lines 62-67)

Paraphrase the following excerpt. "The face of the water, in time, became a wonderful book - a book that was a dead language to the uneducated passenger..."

The educated can read the river

Why do steamboat pilots stop seeing the beauty of the river?

They see only what affects their steering

The narrator suspects that Leonidas W. Smiley is

a made-up person

The steamboat must stay close to the riverbank when it travels upstream to

avoid the river's current

Use the context clues to choose the best meaning of "bannanner" in the dialect of the following excerpt: "Well, thish-yer Smiley had a yaller one-eyed cow that didn't have no tail, only just a short stump like a bannanner...."

banana

"Rapt" means

delighted

What does "infamous" mean?

having a bad reputation

To Twain, the best thing about being a subject was

having everyone's attention

What does Andrew Jackson, the bull-pup, do to win his dog fights?

holds the other dog's hind leg

"Implacable" means

impossible to satisfy

"Nettled" means

irritated

What does Wheeler say that Dan'l Webster can do better than any other frog?

jump distances

What did Bixby want Twain to write in a little book?

landmarks Twain needed to know

What does "tranquil" mean?

peaceful

Bixby got very angry at Twain because Twain

remember nothing Bixby told him

"Dilapidated" means

rundown

What does "minutest" mean?

smallest

What action was Twain sure would convince his mother that his confession is true?

sticking himself with a pin

You can predict that Twain will remember the story about the cannonball because the

story made history real for Twain

Someone who is "garrulous" is

talkative

What did Bixby agree to do for Twain?

teach him to steer the steamboat

A "gullible" person is easily

tricked

"Indifferent" means

uninterested

An example of hyperbole in this tall tale is Wheeler saying that Smiley

will follow a bug to Mexico

A few weeks afer the mesmerizer left town, Twain

wished he had not lied

How does Smiley's love of betting have a negative impact on his life? Support your answer with two details from the story?

Possible answers: (a) Smiley is so intent on betting that he is rude to the Parson whose wife has almost died (lines 51-55) (b) Smiley's dog wins by holding on to an opponent's back leg (lines 76-79). Smiley's dog loses a fight when put against a dog without hind legs (lines 79-80). Smiley's single-mindedness about betting has blinded him to the possibility that his dog will lose the fight. (c) Because of losing the fight, Smiley's dog dies of sadness (line 85-88), another negative result of Smiley's love of betting. (d) Smiley is so distracted by betting that he leaves Dan'l Webster with the stranger as he goes to find a frog for the stranger (lines 134-138); therefore, Dan'l Webster loses the contest because of the stranger's trickery.

Twain writes, "How easy it is to make people believe a lie." Do you agree or disagree that his lie was easy for him? Support your opinion with two details from the essay.

Possible answers: (a) Twain says that he was by nature dishonest, imaginative, and a storyteller (lines 48-49 and 51-54), all characteristics of someone who can lie easily. (b) Simmons went along with anything Twain decided to do (lines 104-106) , making it easier for Twain to trick people. (c) The townspeople believed everything Twain said (lines 106-108), making it easy for Twain to trick them. (d) Twain had only to repeat Dr. Peake's story to convince the doctors of his powers (lines 194-196). The doctor was as gullible as the other audience members.

Describe one part of the pilot's job that came as a surprise to Twain.

Possible answers: (a) Twain was surprised at having to steer so close to the other boats (lines 24-27 and 30-31) (b) Twain was surprised that pilots need to work at night as well as by day (lines 65-70) (c) The number of landmarks he needed to know to learn the river by heart surprised Twain (lines 109-113)

What is your opinion of Bixby as a teacher? Support your answer with three details from the memoir.

Possible answers: (a)Bixby loses his temper when Twain steers badly the first time he tries (lines 28-33) (b)Bixby does not make sure that Twain understands the importance of what he is being told (lines 39-45) (c) Bixby insults Twain, calling him stupid (lines 91-93) (d) Bixby gets so angry with his student that he hits the trading scow (lines 101-102)