Question

http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/661/ what does this short story mean?

Answer 1

This is a great story and classic Twain. Mark Twain was famous for his use of hyperbole, but he was also known for his sarcasm. In The Danger of Lying in Bed, Twain uses sarcasm to reflect the racket that is known as insurance brokering. Twain saw that purchasing accident insurance for train rides was not much more than a crapshoot, maybe even worse, with the odds greatly in favor of the insurance company. He realized that WAY more people died of natural causes that died in railway accidents. So in this story he uses sarcasm as his way of pointing out this fact. When asked if he would like to purchase accident insurance he sarcastically says that he would rather have and insurance ticket for a day that he will not be travelling because he knows he is more likely to die in bed than he is to die on a train ride.