Read the following excerpt from Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi.
My father was a justice of the peace, and I supposed he
possessed the power of life and death over all men, and
could hang anybody that offended him. This was
distinction enough for me as a general thing; but the desire
to be a steamboatman kept intruding, nevertheless. I first
wanted to be a cabin-boy... later I thought I would rather
be the deck-hand who stood on the end of the stage-plank
with the coil of rope in his hand.... But these were only
day-dreams-they were too heavenly to be contemplated
as real possibilities.
What is one effect of the irony in this passage?
A. It shows the innocent and fickle dreams of a child whose hopes
jump from one profession to another.
B. It pokes fun at the idea of wanting to be seen by his friends
making decisions in a courtroom.
C. It makes fun of the notion that a son of a justice of the peace
would want to become a thief.
D. It creates humor in that the son of a justice of the peace would
find manual labor a more satisfying career.