Ineed this ["cub"-engineer] had money, too, and hair oil. . if ever a youth was cordially admired and hated by his comrades, this one was. no girl could withstand his charms. he "cut out" every boy in the village. when his boat blew up at last, it diffused a tranquil contentment among us such as we had not known for months. but when he came home the next week, alive, renowned, and appeared in church all battered up and bandaged, a shining hero, stared at and wondered over by everybody, it seemed to us that the partiality of providence for an undeserving reptile had reached a point where it was open to criticism. what is one effect of the irony in this passage? a. it pokes fun at the unexpected outcome of the accident: the "cub"-engineer is now even more desirable. b. it creates humor in that god's favor seems unpredictable and unexplainable to the young boys. c. it makes fun of the notion that the "cub"-engineer held a popular job but was popular only because of the accident. d. it exaggerates the appeal of the "cub"-engineer and the effect he has on girls and boys in the village.