# LVIII explained — Roughing It

> Chapter companion for Roughing It by Mark Twain.

## What happens

The narrator reflects on his financial ruin after the Nevada mining bubble bursts, his subsequent idle life in San Francisco, and his experience of the great earthquake of 1865. He also learns of a missed opportunity to profit from a mine sale that would have made him a millionaire.

## Themes in this chapter

### Get-Rich-Quick Schemes and Speculation

The narrator's involvement in silver stock speculation, the mania that gripped all classes, and the eventual collapse of the bubble.

### Humor and Exaggeration

The narrator's humorous descriptions of the earthquake's effects, such as pictures turning to face the wall and a lady's child being born clubfooted.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Describes his butterfly idleness in San Francisco, his financial losses, and his reaction to the earthquake.

### Dan

Mentioned as the person to whom the narrator entrusted the sale of his silver mine; letters to him went unanswered.

### Mr. Goodman

One of the proprietors of the newspaper who kindly allowed the narrator to resign rather than be dismissed.

## Key lines

> Once more native imbecility had carried the day, and I had lost a million!

My own foolishness had won again, and I missed out on a fortune.

_The narrator laments his failure to capitalize on the mine sale._

> I fell in love with the most cordial and sociable city in the Union. After the sagebrush and alkali deserts of Washoe, San Francisco was Paradise to me.

I adored San Francisco's friendly atmosphere; compared to the harsh Nevada desert, it felt like heaven.

_The narrator contrasts his previous harsh environment with the pleasures of San Francisco._

> What a gambling carnival it was! Gould and Curry soared to six thousand three hundred dollars a foot! And then⁠—all of a sudden, out went the bottom and everything and everybody went to ruin and destruction!

It was a wild gambling spree; stocks skyrocketed, then suddenly crashed, ruining everyone.

_Describes the frenzy and collapse of the silver stock market._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/roughing_it_se/chapters/lviii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/roughing_it_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/roughing_it_se/chapters