The story "A Royal Compliment" by Mark Twain was included in the collection "The Curious Republic of Gondour and Other Whimsical Sketches". In Twain's stories we can find notes of social satire. He traveled a lot and understood, how imperfect are humans. In this story the author speculates on politic. Despite his tragic life Mark Twain argues always with humour on problems of world politics.
In "A Royal Compliment" he touches upon actual problems of the Spanish society. The narrator buys a newspaper and reads an article about the Spanish king. He considers himself to be the best contender to this title. Then he speculates about Spain. The Spaniards tend to choose their King from another countries. They keep the ports fast locked against foreign traffic three-fourths of each year, to prevent different diseases, but at the same time they violate rules of hygiene.
On the other side, the author recognizes achievements of the Spain nation. But he makes it in such ironical way, which will let the reader burst out laughing. Get acquainted with this story, and enjoy the brilliant stile of the author.
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