“All right, then, You ain’t but little ways from share.” (Twain 25)
This phrase looks non-grammatical but rather explains a point that the boy was close to the shores. He could easily swim through the shallow waters from the boat back to the shore.
“Blast it, boy, some raftsmen would rawhide you till you were black and blue” (Twain 25)
In this phrase, he explains to the boy to be careful when confronting visitors who come to the sleepy town because some of them might sail with him though the rough seas to scare him.
Question 2: Chapter V
The mates he met on his journey taught him various things. The first mate who was steamboatman taught him how to bring the boat to landing when they approached the shores. He learnt from him how to give orders to the other crew on the boat to help him with docking at the shore. The second mate was the night watchman who happened to be the humblest on the boat. He taught him about the names of capes that they passed as they travelled across the Amazon River.
Question 3: VI
1. Mr. Horace Bixby had both strong and weak points in teaching his student Twain. His strong points included mentioning most of the places they passed to his student. He also encouraged his student to be brave by teasing him about his cowardice ((Twain 37). Lastly, he also asked his students questions about what he had learnt to test his understanding. Some of his weak points, however, included exposing his student to danger by taking him in dangerous waters before he had mastered the skill of controlling the boat out of danger (Twain 38). He also taught his student many things making him overwhelmed and forget some of the things he had learnt.
2. I would consider him a good teacher because he taught Twain on how to sail up the current, acknowledged his hard work and encouraged him to be brave when sailing through rough waters.
3. I would love to have him as my teacher since he applies practical teaching techniques to demonstrate difficult lessons. He mentioned names of places along the river when the passed them.
Part II
Question 2
Qn 1) Miss Bessie taught him various subjects since those days, black people were not allowed in town library. She taught him on how to read and write by inspiring him that if he failed read, then he won’t be able to write. She taught him various writing skills such as Shakespeare writing styles and also acknowledged his writing when she wrote a good story.
Question 3
Pilot Brown seemed to have a better experience with his teacher compared to Twain. Brown had a cordial relationship with his teacher who inspired him to read extensively and also went ahead to sneak books out of the library to bring him since he was not allowed to visit the town library. In Twain’s experience, however, his teacher teased him when he failed to remember what he taught him which sometimes discouraged him from being a boat pilot.
Question 4)
Twain was not given the best opportunity compared to Brown by his teacher. Brown’s teacher inspired and helped him to work harder to achieve his dreams. Twain’s teacher, on the other, hand could sometimes discourage him from achieving his dreams especially in the incident when he exposed him to danger even before he had learnt to sail away from danger making him feel scared of sailing against the current.
