Practice - "My Watch" by Mark Twain
Practice Questions
Test your understanding with targeted questions
What is the initial price of the watch, and how long did it run perfectly before the first adjustment?
- Answer: The watch cost $200 and ran perfectly for eighteen months.
- Hint: Look at the "Detailed Summary" under Narrative Style.
💡 Hint: Look at the "Detailed Summary" under Narrative Style.
Define Satire as it is used in the glossary.
- Answer: The use of humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize human vices or stupidity—specifically professional incompetence in this story.
- Hint: It's the primary flavor of Twain’s writing.
💡 Hint: It's the primary flavor of Twain’s writing.
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Interactive Quizzes
Quick quizzes to reinforce your learning
Which literary device is used when Twain treats mechanical disasters with "mock-seriousness" to make them funnier?
- Type: MCQ
- Options: Alliteration, Deadpan Delivery, Onomatopoeia, Foreshadowing
- Correct Answer: Deadpan Delivery
- Explanation: Deadpan delivery involves presenting absurd or hilarious information in a calm, serious manner to heighten the irony.
- Hint: It's mentioned under "Narrative Style" in the Detailed Summary.
💡 Hint: It's mentioned under "Narrative Style" in the Detailed Summary.
At the end of the story, Twain’s uncle suggests that "interference" is the key to making any machine work better.
- Type: Boolean
- Options: True, False
- Correct Answer: False
- Explanation: His uncle uses a horse analogy to explain that a good thing remains good until it has been "vetted" (interfered with) too much by so-called experts.
- Hint: Check "Session 2" in the Narrative Content.
💡 Hint: Check "Session 2" in the Narrative Content.
1 more question available
Challenge Problems
Push your limits with advanced challenges
The Modern Adaptation: Using the Smartphone Analogy from the Memory Aids, write a 3-sentence satire about someone who tries to "fix" their slow phone by following advice from five different YouTube "tech gurus."
- Solution: I started with a slightly sluggish phone, but after the first guru told me to delete my operating system to "save space," the screen only glowed a haunting neon purple. The second expert insisted I submerge it in dry rice and vinegar to "clean the cache," which successfully turned my device into a very expensive, sour-smelling paperweight. By the time the fifth specialist was done, my phone no longer made calls, but it did successfully track the migration patterns of Arctic terns.
- Hint: Use hyperbole and a cycle of escalating failure.
💡 Hint: Use hyperbole and a cycle of escalating failure.
The Ethics of Expertise: Twain suggests we should have a "Distrust in Experts." Is he arguing that we should never seek professional help, or is he making a more specific point about Overcomplication? Use the text to justify your answer.
- Answer: Twain is specifically critiquing the overcomplication of the simple. The watch worked perfectly for eighteen months; the first "expert" created a problem where none existed. He is arguing against "blind faith" in authority and suggesting that we should value reliability over unnecessary "improvements."
- Hint: Think about the phrase "improvement" used in the summary.
💡 Hint: Think about the phrase "improvement" used in the summary.
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Reference links
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