The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Group at eNotes

Mark Twain spent a period of time in the Wild West of the mid-to-late...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:29:32 PST

Mark Twain spent a period of time in the Wild West of the mid-to-late 19th century, and regionalism plays a key aspect of his classic short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Twain's regional dialect is the most obvious example. Virtually all of the repartee between his main characters, Simon Wheeler and Jim Smiley, displays distinctive colloquial dialogue specific to the rural California setting of the time. Twain...

What are the characteristics of regionalism in the short story "The...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:43:00 PST

What are the characteristics of regionalism in the short story "The Celebrated (or Notorious) Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?

First of all, the story's called "The Celebrated Frog of Calaveras...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:20:21 PST

First of all, the story's called "The Celebrated Frog of Calaveras County." Calaveras County is located in the state of California, 135 miles east of San Francisco, smack in the heart of California Gold country. The story probably takes place around the time it was written, about 1865. As to the protagonist and antagonist... well.... The narrator starts off talking about a friend of his, old Simon Wheeler, and asked him about a friend of his,...

We are reading The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.What is...

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:53:50 PST

We are reading The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.What is the setting? Who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist?

Twain's story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is...

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:04:28 PST

Twain's story, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is written in 1st person narration. The narrator begins by saying that a friend of his had asked him to visit Simon Wheeler and ask about a mutual friend named Leonidas W. Smiley. The narrator says that he will do so, although he has a feeling that Leonida W. Smiley is not a real person and that perhaps his old friend really just wanted the narrator and Wheeler to get together so...

How does Mark Twain begin his story of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of...

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 10:24:35 PST

How does Mark Twain begin his story of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?

Quite simply, Smiley entices the stranger to place a forty dollar bet on...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:42:28 PST

Quite simply, Smiley entices the stranger to place a forty dollar bet on an ordinary frog. Smiley is convinced that his frog named Dan'l Webster can "outjump any frog in Calaveras county." The way that Smiley entices the stranger is by using a sort of reverse psychology. Smiley is so confident in his frog that he goes out of his way to make his frog seem ordinary by saying things like "it's only just a frog" and that this frog is really...

What does Smiley entice the stranger to do in "The Nortorious Jumping...

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:17:32 PST

What does Smiley entice the stranger to do in "The Nortorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?

Wheeler "back(s) (his listener) into a corner and blockade(s) (him)...

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 13:13:06 PST

Wheeler "back(s) (his listener) into a corner and blockade(s) (him) there with his chair", making it impossible for him to escape while he "reel(s) off (his) monotonous narrative". Wheeler never shows any animation or emotion while telling his long, drawn-out tale, but he speaks with "a vein of impressive earnestness and sincerity", which makes the listener believe that he "regard(s) (his story) as a really important matter, and admire(s)...

After he catches his listener, how does Wheeler tell his story in...

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 11:47:38 PST

After he catches his listener, how does Wheeler tell his story in "Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?

He want to build up and establish Smiey's obsession and habitual...

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:35:40 PST

He want to build up and establish Smiey's obsession and habitual behaviour of dwelling into gambling with money in the casino and after that, build up and carry on the main story again

I agree with the previous posts and the description of setting is...

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:01:37 PST

I agree with the previous posts and the description of setting is critical. This assignments reminds me of an out of town journalist entering a town and having to relay this "different" element to their audience. I think of the Mencken/ Hornbeck element from "Inherit the Wind." "Setting up" the setting is critical and serves as an excellent way to begin your news report.

Post #2 pretty much said it all. I would just add that you should...

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 15:07:03 PST

Post #2 pretty much said it all. I would just add that you should include some dialogue in your article, perhaps from your "interviews." Mention eyewitness accounts, etc. Also, remember Twain's setting--it's a rough "frontier" town; so if you quote characters or townspeople, do you best to include their dialect. You can use Twain's style as a guide.

In newspaper writing, typically they give all of the pertinent...

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:43:54 PST

In newspaper writing, typically they give all of the pertinent information right at the beginning, in the first paragraph, and then backtrack to fill in the details. So, your first few sentences should introduce the place, time, event, and outcome of the event, and try to do it creatively. For example, "In an unexpected upset this afternoon in Calaveras County, the famous better Jim Smiley lost out when his jumping frog appeared to be...

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:28:33 PST

I have an essay to write. In the essay, I have to pretend that I am the reporter covering the jumping contest between Smiley and the stranger. Any ideas how to start the essay?

If you were a reporter who had to cover the jumping contest, what would...

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 11:21:35 PST

If you were a reporter who had to cover the jumping contest, what would be your main focuses?

In Mark Twain's "The Notorious Jumping Grog of Calaveras County," the...

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 11:52:50 PST

In Mark Twain's "The Notorious Jumping Grog of Calaveras County," the framework story has Twain's narrator in communication with a friend of his who requests that he ask Old Wheeler about a Leonidas W. Smiley. However, as it turns out, the friend appears to have played a joke upon the narrator since the narrator becomes subjected to many tales about a Jim Smiley when he makes the inquiry for his friend. Thus, the friend becomes the...

In "The Notorious Jumping Frog Calveras County,"who's the protagonist...

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:32:20 PST

In "The Notorious Jumping Frog Calveras County,"who's the protagonist & antagonist of the framework story & the framed story?

First of all, the narrator in “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of...

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 16:57:57 PST

First of all, the narrator in “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” asks for information about a man named Leonidas Smiley and is given a story by Simon Wheeler about a man named Jim Smiley. So, one of the narrator’s feelings toward Wheeler is frustration because he is being told a story that he does not want to hear. The narrator also feels that Wheeler’s story is boring and monotonous, and he can not wait for the...

In “TheCelebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” what does the...

Sun, 7 Jun 2009 11:13:32 PST

In “TheCelebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” what does the narrator believe about his experience with Simon Wheeler?