The Big Bear of Arkansas (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: T. B. Thorpe
- First Published: 1841
- Type of Plot: Tall tale, regional, frame story
- Time of Work: The 1830's
- Setting: Mississippi River steamboat and Arkansas woods
- Principal Characters: Gentleman narrator, Jim Doggett
- Genres: Short fiction
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, South or Southerners, Nineteenth century, Mississippi River, Wit or humor, Folklore, Forests or forestry, Hunting or hunters, Bears, Frontier or pioneer life, Braggarts, Steamboats, Arkansas
- Locales: Arkansas, Mississippi River
The Story
The narrator, an educated gentleman knowledgeable about the people and manners of the frontier, describes a short journey by Mississippi River steamboat on which, he asserts, the entire gamut of humanity can be observed. Although he intends to avoid socializing with his fellow passengers, he and they become enthralled by the loud, bragging bear hunter who enters the cabin.
Jim Doggett immediately introduces himself as the Big Bar of Arkansaw, ridicules New Orleans “green-horn hunters,” and declares the superiority of life in Arkansas. His first tale...
[The entire page is 1438 words long]
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