Question

select the correct answer.
what does mark twain satirize in this excerpt from \the £1,000,000 bank-note\?
it was a lovely dinner - party of fourteen. the duke and duchess of shoreditch, and their daughter the lady anne - grace - eleanor - celeste - and - so - forth - and - so - forth - de - bohun, the earl and countess of newgate, viscount cheapside, lord and lady blatherskite, some untitled people of both sexes, the minister and his wife and daughter, and his daughter’s visiting friend, an english girl of twenty - two, named portia langham, whom i fell in love with in two minutes, and she with me—i could see it without glasses. there was still another guest, an american—but i am a little ahead of my story.
a. the long list of names required to address certain nobles
b. the english custom of holding frequent balls and dinner parties
c. the lack of importance given to americans by the english
d. the eccentric attitudes of the british upper class

Explanation:

The excerpt shows a dinner - party with many nobles and titled people, and then an American is mentioned but with less focus. Option C says "the lack of importance given to Americans by the English". In the excerpt, the American guest is sort of an after - thought ("but I am a little ahead of my story" and the way the American is introduced compared to the detailed listing of English nobles) which suggests that Americans are not given much importance by the English. Option A is about the names of nobles, but the satire is not about the length of the name list. Option B is about the custom of dinner parties, but the excerpt is more about the treatment of Americans. Option D is about eccentric attitudes, which is not shown here. So the correct answer is C.

Answer:

C. the lack of importance given to Americans by the English