Life On The Mississippi And The Notorious Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County

Mark Twain’s memoir, Life on the Mississippi, and his short story “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” utilize the definitive styles of a great American writer. Twain’s signature style of writing are found within these two pieces, as he incorporates the language and themes from the American South to depict where he is from. Twain, being a humorist and entertainer, includes comedic dialogue and scenes in nearly all of his writings, each containing various degrees of jest. Life on the Mississippi and “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” both share numerous features commonly found in Twain’s work, but differ greatly in their manipulations of humor.
One method Twain uses to apply humor in his writing is through the depiction

of his characters. In the memoir, Life on the Mississippi, Twain describes his surroundings by saying, “a pile of skids on the slope of the stone-paved wharf, and the fragrant town drunkard asleep in the shadow of them” (409). Instead of fictional characters, the characters presented in the memoir are real people that Twain has met during his travels on the riverboat. He presents these characters with a blunt and honest approach that allows their personalities to shine through the pages. The short story, “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” utilizes the same technique of character depiction but through a different approach. For example, Simon Wheeler, the storyteller says, “there was a feller here once by the name of Jim Smiley… he was the curiousest man about always betting on anything that turned up” (Twain 420). Twain uses dialect to portray the characters from the east as more knowledgeable and education, while those in the west are portrayed as uneducated and less civilized.
The use of exaggeration aids in bringing out the eccentricity of a character, setting, or event in Twain’s stories.

An example of exaggeration in the short story “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” includes, “if there was two birds setting on a fence, he would bet you which one would fly first” (Twain 420). This exaggeration shows that character, Jim Smiley, will wager on all, not matter how meager or futile. It also reveals that Simon Wheeler’s character does not see the reason behind Smiley’s gambles. Another use of exaggeration is in Life on the Mississippi is when Twain describes his town before the steamboat arrives. He says “the white town drowsing in the sunshine of a summer’s morning; the streets empty, or pretty nearly so: one or two clerks sitting in front of the Water Street stores, with their splint-bottomed chairs tilted back against the wall, chins on breasts, hats slouched over their faces... “ (Twain 409). Twain uses realistic and graphic details to emphasize the setting. By using humorous descriptions, Twain is able to amuse the reader and keep them engaged. In order for the reader to understand the writer’s life on the Mississippi, the reader must feel the connection between Twain, the river, and its

people.
Twain’s use of perspective does not have a sole purpose of entertaining the reader, but also to provide insight and to convey different messages. Life on the Mississippi is written in the first person point of view of a young Mark Twain. Twain says, “When I was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades in our village on the west bank of the Mississippi River” (408). Through this technique, the audience is able to connect with Twain and his feelings about the river, the boat, and the townspeople. One is able to understand and experience life through Twain’s eyes. “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is written in the perspective of an unknown, middle aged narrator. Through a frame story, the unknown, educated narrator retelling the story about of Jim Smiley, told in the perspective of Simon Wheeler, and uneducated man from the west. Using the dialect commonly found in the region, Wheeler claims, “Well, thish-yer Smiley had a yaller one-eyed cow that didn’t have no tail” (Twain 424), while the unknown narrator simple says, “Lacking both the time and inclination, I did not wait to hear about the afflicted cow” (Twain 424). The personalities and characteristics of the two characters provides comic relief, while showing the differences between the two different regions.
Through the use of unique style, language, and vivid imagery, Twain use storytelling techniques evident of the American literary theme of the time. Twain’s writings are full of detail, humor, and characterization. His writing forces the reader to decipher what is fact, what is opinion, and what is merely an exaggeration, which is just as important as the story itself.