Discussion Topic
Smiley's encounter with the stranger in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and the resulting deception
Summary:
In "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," Smiley is deceived by a stranger who fills his frog, Dan'l Webster, with quail shot, rendering it unable to jump. This trick allows the stranger to win the bet against Smiley, demonstrating the theme of cunning and gullibility in the story.
How did the stranger outwit Smiley in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?
I assume you mean "How did the stranger outwit 'Smiley' " in the Mark Twain story since there was no Stanley.
Jim Smiley loved to bet on anything--chickens, dogs and tomcats included--and he discovered a talented frog that he named Dan'l Webster. Dan'l could jump higher than any frog Smiley had ever seen, and he was willing to put money on his frog's skills. One day, a stranger came to town. After examining Dan'l, he told Smiley that he saw nothing special about the frog and that he would bet against him--if he had a frog of his own. Smiley took the bet, leaving Dan'l with the stranger while he went to the swamp to find another frog. The wily stranger opened Dan'l's mouth and poured in a teaspoon full of "quail shot" (or bird shot, the pellets found in a shotgun shell), and waited for Smiley to return. When the...
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contest began, the stranger's new frog leaped off, but Dan'l "couldn't budge." The weight of the pellets prevented him from moving. Smiley was outwitted by a man more clever than he.
What character trait of Smiley does the stranger exploit in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?
The wording on this question seems to assume that the stranger got Smiley to challenge him with a bet and to go out to search for a frog on purpose and by intention. However the text indicates that the stranger was sincere until Smiley left him alone with Daniel Webster and went off in another overly enthusiastic spree of bet.
If you read the text this way, as though the stranger had no intent until he had "set there a good while thinking and thinking to hisself," then all he exploited was Smiley's over-enthusiasm, an over-enthusiasm that caused him to leave his prize betting jumping frog with the man with whom he had wagered a bet! So, if the stranger had no prior intent, the answer to the question, then, is that the stranger was able to trick Smiley because he ran off and left the frog with the stranger who took advantage of the situation and poured quail shot down its throat!
then he got the frog out and prized his mouth open and took a tea- spoon and filled him full of quail shot filled him pretty near up to his chin and set him on the floor.
If you prefer the reading that sees the stranger as acting with intent, then the stranger outsmarts Smiley because he feigns innocent disinterest.
says, very deliberate, "Well, I don't see no p'ints about that frog that's any better'n any other frog."
The word "deliberate" can be construed as indicating deliberate intention to find a way to swindle Smiley based upon the way Smiley's own feigned disinterestedness has exposed his yearning for a bet:
Smiley says, easy and careless, "... I should judge he can outjump any frog in Calaveras county."
The words "outjump any frog" echo a yearning for the stranger to pick up the challenge and make a bet. So, in this view, the stranger exploits (1) Smiley's naivete in leaving his frog in the care of the stranger; (2) his over-eagerness to track down resources for a bet; (3) his untempered quest for bets.
What does Smiley entice the stranger to do in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"?
According to the garrulous Simon Wheeler, Jim Smiley was willing to bet on anything. If he found someone who was willing to bet, he'd take him on. If the person didn't want to bet on the side Smiley originally proposed, Smiley was willing to change sides and bet against what he was originally going to bet for, just so he could bet. If there were birds sitting on a fence, he was willing to bet about which one would fly away first. He was even willing to bet that the parson's wife wouldn't recover--although that was probably just Smiley misspeaking. In the case of the jumping frog, Smiley's over-willingness to bet anyone on anything worked to his detriment. Smiley had a prize jumping frog, Dan'l Webster, that he had trained to jump farther than the typical amphibian. One day a stranger came to town, and Smiley invited him to put up a frog against Dan'l Webster. The stranger said he would, if only he had a frog of his own. This temptation proved too great for Smiley, who was only too willing and eager to find the man a frog to use. While Smiley was out catching a frog for the stranger, Smiley unwisely left Dan'l Webster in the presence of the stranger. The stranger "prized open his mouth and took a teaspoon and filled him full of quail shot--filled him pretty near up to his chin." When Smiley returned with the other frog and the challenge began, Dan'l Webster couldn't budge, to Smiley's surprise and disgust. The stranger took his winnings and left before Smiley realized how he'd been taken. Smiley's willingness to bet on anything had caught up to him in that instance.
In this story, Jim Smiley is the most compulsive gambler you could ever hope to meet. So I would say that what he is willing to do is to bet on just about anything.
One of the things he likes to bet on is his jumping frog. He has it trained to jump really well and he thinks it can beat anyone else's frog. What happens to it is that he bets someone that it can outjump that guy's frog. While Smiley is out finding a frog for the guy, they guy fills Smiley's frog up with lead shot. That makes the frog unable to jump and Smiley loses the bet.