Mark Twain's Advice to Youth is an example of Juvenalian satire, a form of satire which is marked as being highly contemptuous and uses extreme exaggeration to make the target of the satire seem easily dismissed.
In speaking on the topics of obedience, respect, and lying, Twain is largely attempting to speak out against the learned behaviors that adults abide by in the name of cultural conformity. Specific examples of this can be seen in his choice of language, saying that children obey parents because "[parents] think they know better than you." It is important to note that he does not say that they do know better, but only that they think they do. Twain states that youth should not lie because they are not yet capable of lying "perfectly" and telling "a lie well told." Again we see that he is not expressing an absolute morality, but instead detailing the moral hypocrisy of the process of socialization.
It could be argued that the intent of Twain is to prepare youth for an adult life in which the very things he is, on the surface, speaking against are a common and important part of life, but it is far more likely that his purpose is instead to bring these qualities of adult life to the attention of adult readers.
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