Which of these excerpts from mark twain's life on the mississippi best shows twain's subtle sense of humor?
a. the minister's son became an engineer. the doctor's and the postmaster's sons became "mud clerks"; the wholesale liquor dealer's son became a barkeeper on a boat.
b. the pilot, even in those days of trivial wages, had a princely salary—from a hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty dollars a month, and no board to pay.
c. but when he came home the next week, alive, renowned . . it seemed to us that the partiality of providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism.
d. and the boat is rather a handsome sight, too. she is long and sharp and trim and pretty; she has two tall, fancy-topped chimneys.

c. but when he came home the next week, alive, renowned . . . it seemed to us that the partiality of providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism.

This option talks about the return of someone who the narrator sees as being evil like a reptile. Everyone seems to have hoped that the man was dead. However, the man returns seemingly unchanged. Options A, B, and C are statements of fact and observation without any personal emotion or appeal in them to create humor.

the correct answer is d. a discussion of specific uses of alliteration

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when you are critiquing or evaluating a poem, you will mostly pay attention to the theme, as well as figures of speech and rhythm. alliteration is a figure of speech where consonants are repeated in neighboring words - and it is important for analysis of sound and rhythm, which is why it might appear in the evaluation of that poem.