Mark Twain - The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Literature review Example

Mark Twain: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, which first appeared in 1865, is one of Twain's finest short stories. Indeed, Twain has succeeded in converting a plain folk tale into an artistic short story. In his version, Twain has made significant artistic innovations and added concrete and specific details for stronger verisimilitude. Thus, this story displays Twain's brilliant command of literary devices and the vernacular language while retaining its original charms as a folk legend. But the primary charm of the story still lies in its folk elements.

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County is a short story with the message that what goes around comes around. In his first successful story, Mark Twain uses local dialect, customs of the time, and patterns of social status to create a reasonable view of the area in which the narrative takes place. The way that the characters act is very unique. Characteristic dialect is also used to provide the reader with a convincing sense of the background in the story. The public status of the key characters in Jumping Frog of Calaveras County also was something that Twain take into consideration in writing this story.

The story of Jumping Frog is Twain's anti-narrative. In fact, epistemological frustration begins as early as the sketch's initial frame, which consists of Twain's letter to friend, who has requested him to find out about Leonidas W. Smiley. In this opening letter, Twain warns the reader that what follows will be a story filled with epistemological roadblocks: "I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and I enquired after your friend Leonidas W. Smiley, as you requested me to do, and I hereunto append the result."

In effect, the tables are turned on both Twain (the narrator) and the reader in the second frame of the story, in which Wheeler does all the talking, though he makes little sense. In that second frame. Twain begins by telling how he found Wheeler "dozing comfortably by the bar-room stove of the little old dilapidated tavern in the ancient mining camp of Boomerang"; as Twain tells it, when he asked about Smiley, Wheeler "backed me into a corner and blockaded me there with his chair—and then sat down and reeled off the monotonous narrative" about a man named Jim Smiley, who was no relation to the aforementioned Leonidas W. Smiley. Wheeler's tale of Jim Smiley forms the body of the text, where each example is wilder and more exact than the previous, it turns out, and thus the yarn amounts to a series of toppers."

The beleaguered Twain (as narrator and knowledge-seeker) has no choice but to endure Wheeler's rant. Finally, however, Twain is able to sneak out of the story (the reader, too) when Wheeler is momentarily distracted from his monologue. As he runs for the door, Twain ironically states, "I did not think a continuation of the history of the enterprising vagabond Jim Smiley would be likely to afford me much information concerning the Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, so I backed away".

The charm of Twain's story partly arises from the conspicuous differences in manner and speech between the frame narrator and Simon Wheeler. However, Twain develops the frame device further in this story: the frame narrator introduces Simon Wheeler, and Simon Wheeler introduces Jim Smiley and his fantastic animals. Therefore, readers find two narrators in the double framework. Both the frame narrator and Simon Wheeler are faithful to their roles. The narrator is the typical pretentious and condescending traveler, and Wheeler is the typical rustic and simple native Westerner. Both the frame narrator and Wheeler keep thoroughly straight faces. Indeed, the effect of the double deadpan manners in this story is effective and complex. The frame narrator plays a minor role in comparison with garrulous Wheeler.

Author illustrates local customs and the ways that the characters act to generate a more down-to-earth background for the story. In the Jumping Frog of Calaveras County the characters engage in activities or performance that would be abnormal for a regular individual to do. For instance, the narrator says:

Simon Wheeler backed me into a corner and blockaded me there with his chair, and then sat down and reeled off the monotonous narrative which follows this paragraph. He never smiled, he never frowned, he never changed his voice from the gentle-flowing key to which he tuned his initial sentence…

Such quote demonstrates the kind of person that Simon was because it shows that he is willing to corner a stranger and tell him a long story that the stranger most likely does not want to hear.

Smiley figured out a way to make it so he would win the bet every time when they bet of the frog jumping, by getting the opponents frog drunk beforehand. “He got out the frog and prized his mouth open and took a teaspoon and filled him full of quail-shot.” An interesting custom is the frog-jumping contest: “Anyways I’ve got my opinion, and I’ll resk forty dollars along that he can out jump any frog in Calaveras County.” The fact that the local people would bet on something that is as unusual as frogs and how high they can jump is something that shows that these characters have different customs.

The chief charm of Simon Wheeler's yarn lies in his droning on in a fascinatingly monotonous tone. Rambling around about trivial betting incidents, Wheeler gradually introduces Jim Smiley and his animals. Then he gently moves his story toward increasingly dramatic incidents and the climax of Dan'l Webster's defeat. Clearly, his story would have been continued endlessly but for the abrupt departure of the frame narrator.

Twain was fully aware of the oral qualities of this story. Twain uses local dialect throughout the story. Dialect enhances the story by painting a picture of the surroundings, giving a deeper understanding of the characters and adding local color. The following quotes show Twain’s main purpose is using dialect, which is to emphasize the rural feel of the story’s setting. The narrator says “He was always ready and laying for a chance; there couldn’t be no solit’ry thing mentioned but that feller’d offer to bet on it, and take ary side you please, as I was just telling you.” The narrator says, “Other dogs jest by the j’int of his hind leg and freeze to it—not chaw…” Smiley uses some interesting and somewhat peculiar phrases at the end of the story:

Smiley he stood scratching his head and looking down at Dan’l a long time, and at last he says, ‘I do wonder what in the nation that frog throw’d off for—I wonder if there ain’t something the matter with him—he ‘pears to look mighty baggy, somehow.’ And he ketched Dan’l by his neck, and hefted him, and says, “Why blame my cats if he don’t weigh five pound!”(1192)

Simon says, “Well, this-yer had rat-tarriers, and chicken cocks, and tomcats and all them….” The use of slang like “solit’ry”, “feller’d”, and “ary” are manners of speech that rural people would use. This use of slang also tells the reader something about the social status of the characters.

Wheeler is simple-minded and unaware of any fun in his absurd stories about Jim Smiley and his animals. Wheeler simply loves to narrate endless yarns whenever he finds a listener. He has no intention to outwit or ridicule the narrator. While Wheeler's "simplicity, gentleness, and tranquility" are evident in the story, "Wheeler is however not aware of the note of apology in his tale." Simon Wheeler is making fun of the narrator's ignorance of country life by describing the frog as if it were a cat. For example, Wheeler described Dan'l Webster "scratching the side of his head with his hind leg." However, unlike a cat, a frog cannot scratch his head with his leg. For another example, Smiley picked up the frog "by the nap of his neck." This description is applicable to a cat, not to a frog. Immediately after this description, Wheeler reports Smiley's exclamation, "Why blame my cats..."

Truly, the carefully constructed structure of Simon Wheeler's tale deserves critical attention. At first glance, his story seems to be a random enumeration of absurd episodes related to an oddity, Jim Smiley. However, the anecdotes are arranged in careful order, showing the increasingly dramatic power of each anecdote and the increasing individuality of each animal as the tale progresses. Wheeler cites "the three extended instances"—the "fifteen-minute nag," Andrew Jackson, and Daniel Webster—to explain Jim Smiley's character and "in length, complexity, surprise, and human interest, the three are arranged in ascending order, climaxing, of course, with the defeat of Dan'l Webster..." The intrinsic appeal of the yarn is "increased by the dramatic presentation" of the jumping frog anecdote because readers can visualize vividly how the characters talk and act. (Smith 16)

The significance of names is also important in this story. Even the name Simon Wheeler is symbolic. St. Peter's name before his conversion was Simon, which means a "rock." Like the apostle, Wheeler is unpolished and humble, and like a rock he has a stony face during his talk. His last name comes from a "wheel." Readers are reminded of two kinds of wheels: one is the wheel for spinning yarn, and the other is Fortune's wheel. Wheeler spins yarns about the ups and downs of Smiley's fortune.

The name of Reverend Leonidas W. Smiley has some ironic touch. "Leonidas" means a "lion," hardly appropriate for a quiet and pious minister. The name "Smiley" sounds absurd for a minister who is usually supposed to be serious and grave. The very name of the missing minister might have led the narrator to suspect that the minister is only a myth. The name Jim Smiley superbly fits the gambler portrayed by Wheeler.

Twain creates a realistic impression of the lower class social status of the characters. The narrator gives hints that Simon Wheeler is a part of the lower class: “I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the bar-room stove of the dilapidated tavern in the decayed mining camp of Angel’s, and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countence.” Simon’s low social status is portrayed in this scene as someone who hangs out in a run-down bar in a poor area. “Angel” is a reference to Angel’s Camp, a mining settlement in Calaveras County, California. In referring to Smiley’s social status and character on page 1189 the narrator says the following:

If there was a horse-race, you’d find him flush or you’d find him busted at the end of it; if there was a dog fight, he’d bet on it; if there was a cat fight, he bet on it; if there was a chicken fight, he’d bet on it; why if there were two birds setting on a fence, he would bet which one would be the first one to fly first; or if there was a camp-meeting, he would be there re’lar to bet on Parson Walker, which he judged to be the exhorter about here, and so he was too, and a good man. This quote shows that Smiley, local character, is a person of low character because he who will bet on anything. To show this, Smiley even bets on weather or not a friend’s wife will live. “Well, I’ll resk two-and-a-half she don’t anyway.”

One can find obvious political implications not only in the names of the animals but also in the confrontations between Westerners and Easterners portrayed in the story—the confrontation between the narrator and Simon Wheeler and the confrontation between Jim Smiley and the stranger. These political implications have led some scholars to interpret this story from socio-political viewpoints. The confrontation between the West and the East is one of the typical themes of Southwestern humor. (Smith)

Twain's literary achievement in this story is dazzling. The double framework, his superb command of the vernacular language, the complete deadpan manners of the two narrators, the excellent characterizations, the clever ordering of the absurd anecdotes in Wheeler's yarn, the increasing dramatic effects, the vivid dramatization of the frog story, appropriate and concrete similes, the sly covert satire on the political affairs, the subtle moral implications, and the folksy humor of this story instantly and completely captivated readers.

Mark Twain’s clever use of realistic customs, dialects, and social status throughout The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County shows that he is a realist. This story, helped by these writing styles, became the launching pad for Twain’s career. The way that Twain uses slang and vocal habits increases the realism of the story. Also, the way that Twain used the social status of his characters adds to the story by creating depth in the characters and making them more realistic. For these reasons Mark Twain is considered one of the greatest realists of all time. However, readers of the present day need guidance through the socio-political context of Twain's day and into the tradition of Southwestern humor for full appreciation of this story. No doubt this is a masterpiece among American humorous stories.