Question

What rhetorical device is used in this excerpt from Mark Twain's "The Danger of Lying in Bed"? The man in the ticket-office said: "Have an accident insurance ticket, also?" "No," I said, after studying the matter over a little. "No, I believe not; I am going to be traveling by rail all day today. However, tomorrow I don't travel. Give me one for tomorrow." The man looked puzzled. He said: "But it is for accident insurance, and if you are going to travel by rail—" "If I am going to travel by rail I sha'n't need it. Lying at home in bed is the thing I am afraid of." I had been looking into this matter. Last year I traveled twenty thousand miles, almost entirely by rail; the year before, I traveled over twenty-five thousand miles, half by sea and half by rail; and the year before that I traveled in the neighborhood of ten thousand miles, exclusively by rail. I suppose if I put in all the little odd journeys here and there, I may say I have traveled sixty thousand miles during the three years I have mentioned. AND NEVER AN ACCIDENT. allusion rhetorical question anecdote logic NextReset

Answer 1

I would say it would be an allusion