Chapter 1: My Watch

It is humorous how the author and his watch had to undergo the pain which was delivered by the seven watchmakers. It was futile in the end, and no good was done to his dear watch. The episodes with the seven watchmakers are funny as the watchmakers try their best to repair the watch, playing with it, exploring, operating, assembling and disassembling each part of it. The author experienced sheer pain as the watch was dear to him. Each time with strength and hope, he went to a new watchmaker; not even a single tinker was able to put it back together and make it function properly again. It was strange how the seven watchmakers could not repair the watch while they experimented and did lots of development and research on it.

The author, Samuel L. Clemens, or Mark Twain, has less than ten years of schooling. He worked as a printer’s apprentice, a steamboat pilot, a prospector and a journalist. All this gave him varied experiences and a wide knowledge of humanity. His stories are realistic, which makes them sound believable. The situations which he explains are faced by ordinary people in their daily lives, which makes it more realistic. The readers can find themselves in these situations and connect easily to his story. For example, in this story, Samuel L. Clemens faces an ordinary issue. We would have a malfunctioning watch which has an error. The issue, rather than being solved, aggravated each time he wanted to get it repaired. This is an example of the problems faced by humans, not just with materialistic things; it can also be a simple argument or even a medical condition.

There are examples where the author exaggerates the situation to make the story humorous. For example, the watch slowed down when it was repaired for the second time. The explanation is a hyperbole of what actually occurred. Even if a watch is slow, it will show time as 12 hours, it cannot travel in the past. The way the author explains how the watch is enjoying the November snowfall before the arrival of the season is funny. The mention of the mummy is humorous and explains the mental state of the author.

Language Work

Make a list of the expressions that imbue the watch with human attributes.

The list of the expressions that imbue the watch with human attributes are –

“infallible in its judgments”

“she is four minutes slow”

“it sickened to a raging fever and its pulse went up to a hundred and fifty in the shade”

“It was away into November enjoying the snow, while the October leaves were still turning.”

“it would go like the very mischief, and keep up such a barking and wheezing and whooping and sneezing and snorting”

“She makes too much steam— you want to hang the monkey-wrench on the safety-valve!”