Inspired by an anecdote Mark Twain heard while traveling in the western United States, the sketch was published in various forms and under various titles, including “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog” and “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” but the basic story remains the same in all versions. The stranger doesn’t belong to the community, and he is aware that he is an outsider to Angel’s Camp. Many writers of the era penned “frame stories,” commonly set in the southwestern United States, showing supposedly sophisticated and cultured Easterners encountering less polished characters on the frontiers of the expanding nation. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County essays are academic essays for citation. The narrator, apparently from the eastern part of the nation, finds himself in a western mining camp listening to a rustic character tell stories about a habitual gambler named Jim Smiley and the animals that were the subject of Smiley’s bets. Jim Smiley trains his scruffy bulldog, Andrew Jackson, to be an excellent fighter. LitCharts Teacher Editions. Smiley is honest when he tells the stranger that his frog can jump higher than any other frog in the county, even though the stranger doesn’t know if that is true or not. Wheeler ascribes just such talent to the dog, saying the animal “would have made a name for himself if he’d lived, for the stuff was in him and he had genius … he hadn’t no opportunities to speak of, and it don’t stand to reason that a dog could make such a fight as he could under them circumstances if he hadn’t no talent.” Smith thought the symbolism of the name appropriate and called the dog “the embodiment of Jacksonian democracy.” But another scholar, S. J. Krause, has argued in American Quarterly that Jackson actually considered himself superior to the so-called common people, that his stubbornness was not altogether admirable, and that he had a penchant for gambling. Because the horse doesn’t look like it could win, people confidently bet against her. As Smith noted, Twain was known to be skeptical of organized religion, so it is significant that his narrator is looking for information about a minister; the clergy becomes associated with the narrator’s smug attitudes. The narrator has been advised by his friend in the East to seek out Wheeler in order to ask him about a man named Leonidas W. Smiley. To Schmidt, it is the importance of cooperation in a community over unrestrained competition among individuals; the relaxed and cheerful Wheeler represents community values, while Jim Smiley disturbs the community with his competitiveness and pays the price for it when his frog loses the jumping contest. Schmidt noted in Southwest Review that in earlier southwestern frame stories and their predecessors— “local color” stories focusing on quirky, unsophisticated characters in various parts of the United States—the story’s narrator tended to be identified with the author and to be condescending toward the rustics he or she encountered. “Some writers also contrived little contests between the traveler and the rustic in which the rustic deceived the traveler with a tall tale.”. As an outsider leading a roaming lifestyle, the stranger doesn’t find himself beholden to the same code of integrity that Smiley honors. It seems increasingly likely that Smiley will have to learn for himself the danger of trusting in appearances. Wheeler’s dialect reveals his lack of an Eastern education and emphasizes that he’s a bit rough around the edges. Written by Timothy Sexton. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”, LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Wheeler’s story is slight. “Simon Wheeler” suggests both “Simple Simon” of the nursery rhyme and a not-so-simple “wheeler-dealer.” This is appropriate because Simon does appear, at least in the narrator’s opinion, to be simple, both in the sense of being uncomplicated and in the sense of being not very bright; but, in reality, he is rather complex and crafty. The names of other characters are meaningful, as well, and this is something upon which numerous critics have commented. Smiley’s apparent lack of respect for religion is a way of deflating the pomposity of some religious people. These pilgrims usually traveled from east to west, from a settled and familiar place to a land where there was much to be discovered. Even though people judge Jackson on his appearance, he defies expectations, winning many fights (and winning Smiley lots of money). The unnamed narrator is irritated that his friend from the East set him up to listen to a monotonous story, which suggests from the outset that the narrator won’t exactly enjoy Wheeler’s tale. Both through the story of Jim Smiley and the framing story of Wheeler and the narrator, Twain satirizes certain American ideas of the nature of success and how to achieve it, while he also satirizes authors who have condescended to their “rustic” characters.”. Either way, Wheeler’s tale can be interpreted as a commentary that ambitious, individualistic types would benefit from taking a hard look at themselves, maintaining the admirable aspects of their personalities, and being willing to change the rest. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain. (including. These names, along with other aspects of the story, led one scholar, Paul Smith, to make an interpretation in Satire Newsletter that seems a bit far-fetched, but is sufficiently interesting to merit the attention of anyone studying the story. Vernacular Realism in Twain Works Jim Smiley has integrity, and it never occurs to him that the stranger would cheat or harm his frog. Struggling with distance learning? Smiley is honest when he tells the stranger that his frog can jump higher than any other frog in the county, even though the stranger doesn’t know if that is true or not. He’s an honest man who puts hard work into training his animals to be winners. Krause has noted, though, that Webster was a political pragmatist, changing his stances when necessary—in other words, flip-flopping, just like the frog. His acknowledgement of his status points back to the unnamed narrator, who is also an outsider to Angel’s Camp. After cheating in the bet, the stranger leaves in order to escape punishment, permanently deeming himself an outsider. December 11, 2019. by JL Admin. In regard to the two Smileys, the simplicity of the name “Jim” contrasts with the pretense of “Leonidas.” And “Smiley” has a connotation of optimism. This illustrates that Smiley is a clever but honest businessman; he relies on other people’s biases (and his animals’ extensive training) to make his money. As the southwestern frame story genre developed, authors found this condescending attitude conflicting with sincere admiration for the people of the frontier. Smiley’s integrity earns him a spot in the community, but it is also his downfall—as the following anecdote about Dan’l Webster will illustrate. He reports that he went to see Simon Wheeler “in compliance with the request of a friend of mine”; he “hereunto append[s] the result.” He assures Wheeler that he “would feel under many obligations to him” for any information Wheeler could provide about Rev. Even though Dan’l Webster looks like an ordinary frog, Jim Smiley has put three entire months into training him how to be an excellent jumper. When the stranger enters town, Jim Smiley immediately trusts him and tries to engage him in a bet. “Writers often capitalized on the juxtaposition of literate traveler and colloquial rustic, exaggerating their differences of manners and speech to suggest cultural absurdities in one or the other or both,” critic Paul Baender explained in Modern Philology. Smith saw “ Jumping Frog of Calaveras County essays are academic essays for the region ”... He doesn ’ t look like it could win, people confidently bet against.. 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