On Mark Twain's The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1)

Yuen M. Ho
English 48B
January 31, 2007
Journal #17 Mark Twain

I. Quote

“But, by your leave, I did not think that 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, and so I started away.”

II. Summary

When the narration comes to this point, the story has almost come to an end. Yet, as if Mark Twain was not sure whether readers have forgotten his original intent to meet Simon Wheeler, he reminded us again at the end of the story that he talked to Wheeler to inquire about Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, but not to hear the story of Jim Smiley, whom Wheeler has been reminiscing without interruption for three written pages.

III. Response

The whole plot of “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” in a nutshell is about Mark Twain coming up to Simon Wheeler to ask about a man named Leonidas W. Smiley, so as to do a favor for his friend. Yet, Wheeler did not seem to know anything about this guy, and decided to talk about another man with the same last name, Jim Smiley, instead.

The story undoubtedly has a simple plot. Nevertheless, Twain, like a magician, with his ward (words) was able to turn this plain plot into a humorous story. I was amused by the colloquial “conversation” between Wheeler and Twain; I was enthralled by the interesting betting stories of Jim Smiley. Twain has proven to us with his work that humor is a kind of art. It is not the matter that makes a story humorous, but the manner the author tells the story.

While the story does not seem to impose any moral implication, I relish reading it because it is casual and simply fun. The use of conversational language also makes the story heard, not read, as if I was Mark Twain talking face-to-face to a genuine, but garrulous man. It is one of those neighborhood tales that you want to share with your friends, and perk up their day too!