Student Question
What does the narrator's reaction at the end of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" reveal?
Quick answer:
The narrator's reaction at the end of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" tells readers that the narrator doesn't believe that Simon Wheeler's tale about Jim Smiley and his frog is true. The narrator is willing to listen to the old man, but only to a point.
In Mark Twain's story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," the narrator sits through Simon Wheeler's long tale about Old Jim Smiley and his bets (mostly because Wheeler has backed the narrator into a corner and blockaded him there). Wheeler talks on and on about how Jim Smiley would bet on anything and everything and about the dog "Andrew Jackson" and his eventual downfall.
Then Wheeler tells the story of Smiley's famous jumping frog "Dan'l Webster" and how the frog was only bested after an unscrupulous fellow filled the poor creature with quail shot so the frog couldn't jump no matter how it tried.
At the end of that story, Wheeler is called away for a time, and the
narrator uses the opportunity to make his escape. Unfortunately, though,
Wheeler catches the narrator at the door and starts to talk more about Smiley
and, this time, his "yeller one-eyed cow that didn't have no tail." The
narrator mutters, "Oh! hang Smiley and his afflicted cow!" He does so
"good-naturedly," though, and then takes his leave with a cheerful
"good-day."
The narrator's reaction here tells readers that he doesn't believe a word of what Wheeler has told him about Jim Smiley or anything else. The whole thing is a tall tale, and he knows it well. But his cheerful politeness shows that he isn't angry with Wheeler or really upset by listening to his tales. He seems to understand that the old man is rather lonesome and likes to be able to talk to people. Still, the narrator knows when he has had enough of such talk and gratefully seizes the opportunity to depart.
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