Question

Mark Twain once said, "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man."

Which paraphrase best captures Twain's meaning in this quotation?
A. Man is evil, but dogs are pleasant.
B. Helping a dog in need is better than helping a person in need.
C. A saved dog will stand by you, but helping a man does not ensure loyalty.
D. Man is known for his devotion to friends, but dogs make better friends in the end.

Answer 1

The correct option is B.
What Mark Twain is trying to say is that, one can be absolutely sure that he is not going to have any regret whatsoever when he helps a dog in need but helping a man in the same manner might leads to regrets in the future. Thus, in short, it is better to help a dog than to do the same for a man.