# XXXIII explained — Roughing It

> Chapter companion for Roughing It by Mark Twain.

## What happens

The narrator, Ballou, and Ollendorff wake from a snowdrift to discover they were within fifteen steps of a stage station, having spent a miserable night in the storm. Humiliated and angry, they recover after breakfast, but the narrator's resolve to quit smoking fails when he sneaks off to smoke, only to find Ollendorff drinking and Ballou playing solitaire. They agree to abandon their reform. At the station, they learn of lost sheep drovers. They reach Carson, rest, and attend the famous landslide trial of Hyde vs. Morgan.

## Themes in this chapter

### Humor and Exaggeration

The absurdity of spending a night in a snowdrift within steps of an inn, and the comic failure of reform resolutions, exemplifies Twain's humorous exaggeration.

### The Absurdity of Pretension

The narrator's pretensions to reform and being an example to the rising generation are undercut by his own weakness and the discovery of his companions' vices.

## Character check-ins

### The Narrator

Wakes from a snowdrift, struggles with his smoking addiction, and agrees to abandon reform.

### Mr. Ballou

Found in a sitting posture in the snow, later caught playing solitaire.

### Ollendorff

Emerges from a snowdrift, later caught drinking from a bottle.

## Key lines

> Will some gentleman be so good as to kick me behind?

Ballou, buried in snow, sarcastically asks for a kick to help him up.

_Highlights the dark humor of their predicament._

> We actually went into camp in a snowdrift in a desert, at midnight in a storm, forlorn and hopeless, within fifteen steps of a comfortable inn.

The trio camped in a snowdrift during a storm, unaware they were just fifteen steps from shelter.

_Emphasizes the absurdity and humiliation of the situation._

> Absurdity could go no farther. We shook hands and agreed to say no more about 'reform' and 'examples to the rising generation.'

Finding each other in their vices, they mutually abandon their reform promises.

_Illustrates the theme of failed self-improvement._

## Links

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