Read the following excerpt from mark twain's life on the mississippi: my father was a justice of the peace, and i supposed he possessed the power of life and death over all men, and could hang anybody that offended him. this was distinction enough for me as a general thing; but the desire to be a steamboatman kept intruding, nevertheless. i first wanted to be a cabin-boy . . later i thought i would rather be the deck-hand who stood on the end of the stage-plank with the coil of rope in his hand. . but these were only day-dreams—they were too heavenly to be contemplated as real possibilities. what is one effect of the irony in this passage? a. it pokes fun at the idea of wanting to be seen by his friends making decisions in a courtroom. b. it creates humor in that the son of a justice of the peace would find manual labor a more satisfying career. c. it shows the innocent and fickle dreams of a child whose hopes jump from one profession to another. d. it makes fun of the notion that a son of a justice of the peace would want to become a thief.