The Story Of The Good Little Boy
Janeway 1
Jonathan Janeway
Mr. Mulcahy
Duel English, 2nd Block
What Does it Mean to be Good?
In "The Story of the Good Little Boy," Twain uses the element of irony to make a statement throughout the entire story. Even though Jacob strives to do good things and be a near flawless Christian he does so with askew intentions. He wants to do good things not out of the goodness of his heart, but to be recognized by other people. This is the complete opposite of what the ideal Christian should do. Even though Jacob believes he is being good we learn he is only seeking attention. So ironically for the story he never receives the blessings he wants. Twain is using this story not just to tell a story, but to make a point. The point he wants to make is that anyone can do good things, but if they are being done for the wrong reason you will never receive the full reward.
The first ironic thing a reader will come across in the story is the title itself. To someone who has never read the story this title would make it easy to believe Jacob is a great kid, but after reading the story the irony of the title is revealed. This irony of the title can also coexist with the purpose of the story itself. Just because someone in society has a title that makes them seem like a reliable, "good" person does not mean they are.
Janeway 2
Part of Jacob 's true motive for doing good is seen in the first sentence of paragraph three, "Jacob had a noble ambition to be put in a
Sunday-school book" (331). This goal Jacob wants to achieve is what helps lead to the odd way Jacob is said to behave, "He wouldn 't play marbles on
Sunday, he wouldn 't rob birds ' nest, he wouldn 't give hot pennies to organ-grinders ' monkeys; he didn 't seem to the any interest in any kind of rational amusement" (330). He did not act like a normal boy. He stayed away from anything that could classify him as being a bad boy.
The first ironic encounter Jacob has is with one of the "bad boys": Jim
Blake when Jacob goes
Jonathan Janeway
Mr. Mulcahy
Duel English, 2nd Block
What Does it Mean to be Good?
In "The Story of the Good Little Boy," Twain uses the element of irony to make a statement throughout the entire story. Even though Jacob strives to do good things and be a near flawless Christian he does so with askew intentions. He wants to do good things not out of the goodness of his heart, but to be recognized by other people. This is the complete opposite of what the ideal Christian should do. Even though Jacob believes he is being good we learn he is only seeking attention. So ironically for the story he never receives the blessings he wants. Twain is using this story not just to tell a story, but to make a point. The point he wants to make is that anyone can do good things, but if they are being done for the wrong reason you will never receive the full reward.
The first ironic thing a reader will come across in the story is the title itself. To someone who has never read the story this title would make it easy to believe Jacob is a great kid, but after reading the story the irony of the title is revealed. This irony of the title can also coexist with the purpose of the story itself. Just because someone in society has a title that makes them seem like a reliable, "good" person does not mean they are.
Janeway 2
Part of Jacob 's true motive for doing good is seen in the first sentence of paragraph three, "Jacob had a noble ambition to be put in a
Sunday-school book" (331). This goal Jacob wants to achieve is what helps lead to the odd way Jacob is said to behave, "He wouldn 't play marbles on
Sunday, he wouldn 't rob birds ' nest, he wouldn 't give hot pennies to organ-grinders ' monkeys; he didn 't seem to the any interest in any kind of rational amusement" (330). He did not act like a normal boy. He stayed away from anything that could classify him as being a bad boy.
The first ironic encounter Jacob has is with one of the "bad boys": Jim
Blake when Jacob goes
Cited: Twain, Mark. “The Story of the Good Little Boy.” Literature to Go. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011 330-333. Print.