Read the excerpt from chapter 23 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

"What we want is to go out of here quiet, and talk this show up, and sell the rest of the town! Then we'll all be in the same boat. Ain't that sensible?" ("You bet it is!โthe jedge is right!" everybody sings out.)

Twain is most likely using humor to make a statement about the impressionability of which of the following groups of people?

1. those who work in the legal field, represented by the "jedge"

2. those who are not formally educated, represented by Huck and Jim

3. those who swindle and cheat others, represented by the "duke" and "king"

4. those who are considered common folk, represented by the townspeople

4. Those who are considered common folk, represented by the townspeople.

Explanation:

In Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn", the main protagonist Huck is looking for adventure and detests everything that society wants to teach him. Rather, he wants freedom and liberty to do whatever he wants, thus resulting in his decision to set out for an adventure.

In the given excerpt of Chapter 23 of the text, we see the townsfolk being cheated out of their money with the 'performance by the duke and dauphin'. But as much as they are angry of being cheated, they did not want to be the "laughing stock of the whole town" and decided not to tell anyone about it. Instead of suffering alone, they will tell them to come and be cheated too, thus putting all of them "in the same boat". This scene is humorous in that Twain uses the townspeople as a representation of common people who are easily swayed and influenced by others.