Question

A strapping girl of fifteen, in the customary sunbonnet and calico dress, asked me if I "used tobacco" – meaning did I chew it. I said no. It roused her scorn. She reported me to all the crowd, and said:

"Here is a boy seven years old who can't chew tobacco."

By the looks and comments which this produced I realized that I was a degraded object, and was cruelly ashamed of myself. I determined to reform. But I only made myself sick; I was not able to learn to chew tobacco. I learned to smoke fairly well, but that did not conciliate anybody and I remained a poor thing, and characterless.

In about 100 words, discuss the meaning Twain intends in the excerpt and how satire is used to develop that theme.

Answer 1

Here just re-word it in your own words:
The meaning is this, this boy was vexed by the horrible habit of smoking from the peer pressure of others. The author uses satire to jokingly tell of how much importance chewing tobacco was for a boy of his age. When Twain states " I was not able to learn to chew tobacco. I learned to smoke fairly well, but that did not conciliate anybody and I remained a poor thing, and characterless." he uses words such as "poor thing" and "characterless" to show humor within his writing. Though smoking and chewing tobacco isn't such a humorous subject, Twain uses a good amount of satire to represent comedy in such a serious topic.

Answer 2

thank you!