Context of quote "work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and. play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do." mark twain

The quote is from ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’ written by Mark Twain.

Solution:

The book is about the adventures of a boy Tom who lives with his aunt Polly. Aunt Polly had asked Tom to whitewash the long and wide fence of the house. Tom did not want to whitewash and all his treasures comprising silly things precious to a boy of his age were not sufficient enough to lure any of the little boys into performing his task of whitewashing the fence.  

Moreover, Aunt Polly had also issued strict instructions to Jim, another boy, to not help Tom in any way. However, clever Tom was able to attract the other boys – Ben Rogers and Billy Fisher pretending that the work of whitewashing was difficult but significant and enjoyable so he was given the responsibility of doing it.

He pretended to enjoy the work when he did not. Both the boys whitewashed. The paint was over and there were three coats of whitewash on it. Tom was wealthy and had a whale of a time watching Ben and Billy whitewash while he relaxed. At this point he reflects that a great human truth is that if you want something to be coveted by a boy or a man, make it seem difficult to achieve.

It is then that the narrator expresses the given philosophy about work. It means work is something which one is forced to do whereas play is something which one is not forced to do. Tom did not want to call whitewashing ‘work’ as he wanted to pretend he was enjoying it and it suited him whereas he was forced to do it. Play and fun was what he actually desired as it was not forced upon him.

a

explanation:

this quote could be referring to the death penalty. it's questioning the morality of sentencing murderers to death as a punishment, because it seems hypocritical. this quote seems to be arguing for non-lethal punishment for killers.