What prompts Simon Wheeler to the story of Jim Smiley?
The mention of the name Smiley prompts Wheeler to relate the story of Jim Smiley, his penchant for betting, his menagerie of unusual animals, and his jumping frog.
How does the stranger get the best of Jim Smiley?
How did the stranger beat Jim Smiley in the bet? Jim tried to double his money by betting that his frog would still win even with a spoonful of quail shot in his belly. He drugged Jim’s frog so that he fell asleep when the competition started.
What is Twain’s main purpose in telling the story of the notorious jumping frog?
Mark Twain’s main purpose for writing was to entertain. He wanted to make people laugh and entertain them with his silly writing style and funny characters.
What is the message of The Celebrated Jumping Frog?
Integrity and Community. In Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” an old man named Simon Wheeler tells the unnamed narrator, an out-of-towner, a long and boring story about a man named Jim Smiley and his pet frog, Dan’l Webster.
What do the boys call Jim Smiley’s mare?
nag
What is ironic about Smiley’s losing the bet?
Smiley thinks he is sure to win the bet he makes with the stranger, especially since Smiley goes out and personally catches a frog for the stranger to bet on. The irony is that the stranger is not such a sucker as he appears to be. Smiley loses forty dollars. This is a typical story of a trickster out-tricked.
Why does Smiley get angry?
Why does Smiley get angry? He realizes that the reason his frog could not jump as high was because the man weighed down the frog with quail shot.
How does Smiley train his frog to jump?
For three months, Jim Smiley did nothing but sit in his backyard and teach his pet frog, Dan’l Webster, how to jump higher. Smiley trained the frog to jump on command when he tapped its back, and he taught it to catch any fly with its tongue, no matter the distance.
Who tells the story of Jim Smiley?
This question reveals one of the story’s most humorous elements because the answer is that nothing, in particular, prompts Simon Wheeler to tell the story of Jim Smiley.
What does Smiley do if he Cannot get someone to bet?
2. What does Smiley do if he cannot get someone to bet? Smiley changes sides and tries to get the person to bet in the opposite way.
What role does the use of dialect play in the story?
Answer Expert Verified It might be said that the use of dialect in the story provides humor and authenticity, realism to the setting and characters. It seems that it creates a strong sense of place and it might help to understand the ancient mining camp.
How does the stranger prevent Dan L Webster from jumping?
The stranger does not have a frog, so Smiley goes off to the swamp to procure another and, while he is gone, the stranger feeds Dan’l Webster some “quail shot” to make him heavier and, therefore, unable to jump high. The stranger’s ploy works: Dan’l Webster cannot jump at all and Smiley loses the bet.
Why does Jim’s frog lose?
When a stranger passes through town, Smiley is eager to challenge the man to a frog-jumping competition. The stranger accepts, but when Smiley isn’t looking, he fills Webster with quail-shot to weigh him down, causing Webster to lose the competition and thereby earning the stranger Smiley’s 40 dollars.
What did Jim Smiley do when he found a frog?
Smiley catches a frog and starts to educate it. For three months, he does nothing but train it. When he knows he has a frog that can beat any other frog, he starts betting. He names the frog Dan’l Webster.
What happens to Smiley’s frog in the Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County?
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.
Does this story seem realistic or does it seem more like a tall tale The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County?
Answer. The story ‘ The celebrated jumping frog of calaveras country’ is more of a tall tale and is not really realistic. It is based on Greek story and is about two or three thousand years old.
How does the narrator hear the story of the Jumping Frog in The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County?
While Smiley is gone, the man fills the frog’s mouth with ‘shot’, which weighs him down. When it comes time for the contest the frog is too heavy to jump properly and the man wins the bet over Smiley. Therefore, the narrator hears this story because of somewhat of a misunderstanding.
Is The Celebrated Jumping Frog a tall tale?
The frame tale structure of “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is one of its most important parts. The inner tale is the one Wheeler tells about Jim Smiley, his betting ways, and his run-in with the Stranger. Wheeler’s stories seem largely exaggerated, and can be viewed as examples of a tall tale.
Why is the frog so important to Smiley?
The first reason Smiley is proud of his frog is because his frog is an amazing jumper. Readers are told that the frog is “so gifted” and that the frog’s strong suit is jumping on level ground. He could cover a great distance in a very short amount of time, and other animals of his breed are slower in those conditions.
What is the meaning of a tall tale?
: a story that is very difficult to believe : a greatly exaggerated story.
How much is the wager that is made on the frog jumping contest?
The stranger’s frog jumps away while Dan’l does not budge, and the surprised and disgusted Jim pays the $40 wager. After the stranger has departed, Jim notices Dan’l’s sluggishness and picks the frog up, finding it to be much heavier than he remembers.
How much does each man bet on the frog jumping contest?
That the parson’s wife wouldn’t recover from a serious illness. He offered to bet $2.50. What did the men of the mining camp call Smiley’s horse?