1. Question 1: The purpose for comparing and contrasting two things is to make a point. What two specific things is Twain comparing and contrasting, and what is the point he is making? How do you know?
Mark Twain is comparing and contrasting the view one has of something versus the view one has after gaining a more detailed knowledge of that thing. His point is that something is lost and something gained after viewing or experiencing a thing from a different context. The essay poses the question; is the loss greater than gain? I know this because the last sentence of the essay, which plainly questions: “And doesn’t he sometimes wonder whether he has gained most or lost most by learning his trade.”
