The californian's tale by mark twain summary

I’m studying for my English class and need an explanation.

Now it is time for you to complete your Unit Project. For this project, you will be writing a Literary Analysis paper. This is an organized written presentation of the study of a Short Story. You will use evidence from the text to describe the literary techniques the writer used and interpret meaning. The audience for this paper should be an imaginary classmate, a student your age, who has read the story through once but has not yet studied it to understand it on a deeper level. Your essay will have five paragraphs. The introduction will provide a brief summary of the story (remember, your audience has read the story, so you do not need more than 1-3 sentences ofsummary), and tell us some relevant information about the writer.

Your body paragraphs will discuss characters and how the writer presents them, the images in the story, and the mood. You must identify and interpret each of these elements and provide quotes from the story that support your thinking. You may discuss characters, images, and mood in any order you choose. Your three body paragraphs must include a minimum of two quotes per element, for a total of six quotes from the story total. You may use more quotes, but not less.

The conclusion of your paper will discuss the theme. Identify what theme the writer presents in the story and provide at least two quotes that support your thoughts. You should include how at least one other element (characters, images, or mood) contributes to the development of the theme.

10% of your grade will be on grammar and mechanics. Write as clearly and correctly as you can. This means that 90% of your grade is based on your ideas - however, you will not earn an A if you do not proofread carefully and check for errors.