A stroke of luck

This month’s story is fairly simple on the face of it, but it is open to more than one interpretation depending on what or who you choose to believe. In Luck by Mark Twain, we have three different characters and three different perspectives on the story being told. The narrator gets his information about the celebrated character ‘Arthur Scoresby’ from a clergyman, who is an ‘old acquaintance’, as the two of them sit together at a banquet in honour of Scoresby. As always, you’ll get the most out of this masterclass if you read the story for yourself: https://writ.rs/lucktwain.

So what does the narrator find out about Scoresby from the Reverend? Essentially that his glittering military career, leading to this event to honour him, was purely down to luck rather than to ability. In fact, he declares that he’s an ‘absolute fool’.

Contrast this with the prevailing view, given by the narrator. Notice how he