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Expository essay of the jumping frog of calaveras county s
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County setting
Mark Twain imagery
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Literary Analysis of “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
The 1867 folktale, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain, depicts the interesting events of Leonidas W. Smiley and his jumping frog through in depth detail which creates realistic imagery. The narrator tells of an inquiry that he receives, requesting information regarding Smiley. He goes about finding this information by tracking down a man named Simon Wheeler, Wheeler then goes to explain the story of Smiley and his gambling problem and how it rooted with his childhood when he captured and befriended a jumping frog. Once understanding Twain’s way of expressing imagery, it will be discovered that the only way his folktale, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” came across so well was because of his in depth description of all the events, characters and recalls of memories in the story makes it come alive.
When considering the imagery in the folktale one of the first noticeable depictions is when the narrator seeks out Wheeler and asks him of Smiley. Wheeler is not only given an in depth description of his outward appearance, but, is also described with full detail while he is recalling Smiley’s past. Twain writes, “Simon Wheeler backed me into a
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He first explains more recent events such as his more serious gambling affairs, Wheeler recalls a dog from one of these situations, “ He was a different dog; his under jaw began to stick out like the fo’ castle of a steamboat… and bite him, and throw him over his shoulder two or three times.” this literary example in particular is a direct reflection of how extraordinary Twain’s skill in writing imagery is. He not only explains certain things well, but he also, makes comparisons to things in daily life that help illustrate these events in the minds of
A friend has asked the narrator to find Simon Wheeler and to ask him about the Reverend Leonidas W. Smiley.Simon Wheeler doesn’t remember a Reverend Smiley,but he does start to tell a tale about Jim Smiley,a man who loved to make bets.We learn from the start that Smiley loves to gamble,but more importantly perhaps,he likes to bet an animals.”I found simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the bar-room store of old dilapidated tavern in the ancient mining camp of Angels.”Here explains how Simon is,his behavior this part shows he's a lazy an old school sleeping in a ancient camp that looks like from Angels.”Simon Wheeler backed me into a corner and blocked me there with his chair and then sat me down and rolled off the monotonous narrative which
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel written by Mark Twain during the late 1800’s (Mintz). The book brought major controversy over the plot, as well as the fact that it was a spin-off to his previous story, Adventures of Tom Sawyer. This book has remained a success due to Twain’s interesting techniques of keeping the audience’s attention. Chapters eleven and twelve of “Huckleberry Finn,” uses a first person limited point of view to take advantage of the use of dialogue while using many hyperboles to add drama to entertain the reader by creating description within the story without needing to pause and explain.
Although both Twain and Douglass both lived in the south, Douglass was a slave and, therefore, faced greater hardships than did Twain. While Twain was preoccupied about becoming steamboat captain, Douglass was experiencing more dire troubles such as having “no shoes, no stockings, no jacket, no trousers, nothing on but a coarse tow linen shirt, reaching only to my knees” (Douglass). As a free, white male, Twain’s biggest worry was not accomplishing his goal of becoming a steamboat pilot (Twain). Another difference is the use of joyful and troubling memories. While Twain ends his narrative in despair because he “somehow… could not manage…” to become a steamboat pilot, Douglass ends his narrative in the hopeful and thankful tone of a freed slave. Douglass proclaims “this good spirit was from God, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise”(Douglass). Finally, another narrative technique that differs Twain from Douglass is that Twain speaks for all of the boys of his town while Douglass only recounts his own experiences. According to Twain, “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. That was, to be a steamboatman.”(Twain). Douglass, although alluding to other slaves, does not depict their desires nor does he show a kinship with them. Douglass’
Mark Twain’s use of humor in the story mocks and shines light on the issues of our society’s political system from back then that continue
Mark Twain is considered one of America 's most highly regarded literary icons. He upholds this status by utilizing parallelism to include bits of information about himself in the novel. Throughout the story, Twain keeps a sort of idol-influenced motivation
In the 1850's, a new literary movement emerged. This movement, termed regionalism, shows fidelity to a particular region or culture, namely through character's speech, manners, and beliefs. One distinct characteristic of regionalism present in all such texts is the idea that people within these cultures are very difficult to change because the characters want to preserve their distinct way of life. Two short stories in particular effectively demonstrate regionalism—Mark Twain's "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," published in 1865, and Bret Harte's 1868 publication of "The Luck of Roaring Camp." Both Twain and Harte use regionalism within their short stories; however, they do so by utilizing completely different aspects of local
First, Mark Twain uses educated diction and obscure descriptions of Simon Wheeler in an attempt to entertain the general public reading the newspaper “The Saturday,” the newspaper where Mark Twain published his original version of his short story. To begin, Mark Twain uses the character of Jim Smiley to interest the reader and keep them hooked at the obscure personality of Mr. Smiley and his frog. Jim Smiley, a man addicted to gambling and competition, fools others through deception and false manipulations and gains the reader’s attention through his dedication to win and compete. Through clever manipulation of words, Jim downplays the skill of his...
Twain’s novel was greatly influenced by the times and criticizes the imperfections in society. These errors in society were subjective to the current events during the Gilded Age. The following show the effects of the current times that influenced the context of the novel. One of America’s leading historians of America in the west, Patricia N. Limerick well elaborates on what happened in the Gilded Age. The following quote fro...
Twain describes local customs and the ways that the characters behave to create a more realistic setting for the story. In the story the characters engage in behavior or activities that would be unusual for a regular person to do. For example, the narrator says:
At the young age of twelve, Twain lost his father. Ever since the loss of his father, he began to work in various jobs. From starting as “an apprentice, then a composer, with local printers, contributing occasional squibs to local newspapers” (“Mark Twain”). The early start of responsibility was just the beginning of his career. During the time, he was working for the newspaper, for six years in the newspaper company, he “finally ended up as an assistant to his brother, Orion” (“Samuel Langhorne Clemens.”). He stayed in Iowa by his brother’s side until he
“The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain is about an extremely talkative man by the name of Simon Wheeler who migrated from the East to the Western mining town. The man is then approached by Mark Twain (the narrator) which asks him if he possibly knows of a man called Leonidas W. Smiley. Rather than providing Mark Twain with the information he urgently needs Simon Wheeler starts to explain to him a tall tale story of a completely different man named Jim Smiley. He tells him the lifestyle of this particular man and all about him in great detail, which is pretty much pointless to Mark Twain.
In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain illustrates several traits that are common in mankind. Among these traits are those that are listed in this essay. Through characters in the story Twain shows humanity's innate courageousness. He demonstrates that individuals many times lack the ability to reason well. Also, Twain displays the selfishness pervasive in society. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, many aspects of the human race are depicted, and it is for this reason that this story has been, and will remain, a classic for the ages.
on the road” (Twain pg 681). Twain’s description of Jim Smiley, he exaggerates Smiley’s proneness to bet on anything or declaring a bet. Twain’s use of hyperboles enhances a character’s characteristics, like Jim Smiley’s excessive use of betting on unthinkable things. This creates a humorous effect to the story because it exaggerates some truths about characters to show how humorous Smiley’s actions are when he places many bets. In addition, exaggeration is a great way to bring out singularities of characters in the story, “ … if there were two birds setting on a fence, he would bet you which one would fly first ” (Twain pg 681). In this case, the exaggeration here is Jim would find a way to make a bet out of anything. It would not matter how insignificant something was, Smiley would seek an opportunity to turn any situation into a way to make a profit and will satisfy his gambling urges. Twain’s use of hyperboles is an excellent way to bring out the characters’ characteristics and revealing interesting information. Rather than explaining that Smiley has trouble controlling his gambling urges and bets on anything and takes advantage in any opportunity that he sees he could make money. Twain wants the reader to get interested and wants the reader to know how serious Jim Smiley’s
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.
In "Two Views of the River," an excerpt from Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, Twain comes to the realization of the realities of the river. After a life along the river and knowing "every trifling feature that bordered the great river as" well as he knew his alphabet, (Twain 1) Twain sees the reality behind the "beauty" (1) and "poetry" (1) of the river. A comprehensive analysis reveals Twain's argument questions the value of learning a trade, as his images of "the majestic river" (1) and the peril it may cause for the steamboat, show the comparisons of the beauty and the reality of the river.