Question

Two or three of the boys had long been persons of consideration among us because they had been to St. Louis once and had a vague general knowledge of its wonders, but the day of their glory was over now. They lapsed into a humble silence, and learned to disappear when the ruthless "cub"-engineer approached. This fellow had money, too, and hair-oil. Also an ignorant silver watch and a showy brass watch-chain. He wore a leather belt and used no suspenders. If ever a youth was cordially admired and hated by his comrades, this one was.
How does Twain's use of sarcasm in this excerpt help serve his purpose? Be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.

Answer 1

In this excerpt from Old Times on the Mississippi by Mark Twain, he tells the story of how he began training as a riverboat pilot. In it, he introduces the character of  the "cub-engineer". Here, Twain uses his characterization (the way he presents the character) to let us know how much he dislikes this dude. There are many ways in which to describe hair grease, but Twain chose "Oil-hair" (not nice to say). That and his "ignorant silver watch and a showy brass watch-chain" give us more details about how the author perceived this person (not very positively, of course).