Project Blog #11 - Jumping Frogs

"The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County" was written by Mark Twain in response to humorist Artemis Ward's request for a funny story to add to a book he was working on. After reading the selection, I noticed that what people found funny back in the day of Mark Twain, and what people find funny nowadays is totally different...simply because I did not laugh at anything but the overall sillyness of the plot. Jim Smiley, who resides in a town in California, goes around the city claiming that his frog, Dan'l Webster, can out-jump any other frog in the entire county. A man from the county decides to take up Smiley on the bet. So Smiley then goes out to a local swamp to find a frog for the inspiring frog-jumper individual. While Smiley is out, the man puts a "quail shot" into Smiley's infamous frog. After returning with a frog for the man to use against Smiley, the race begins. Filled with lead, Smiley's frog obviously does not win, while the other man's frog easily claims victory. The man takes money from Smiley after he wins the bet and goes on his way after pulling a very clever hoax. As far as relating this idea to the philosophy of Henry David Thoreau, it can be seen throughout the writing of Mark Twain that his characters do not value hospitality. The man in the story goes on and tells a narrative about something completely off topic of what someone asks him. I think that Thoreau valued the idea of hospitality because he demonstrates this idea in the story "Walden" (Wayne). In the story about the Jumping Frogs, being kind and generous definitely is not taken into perspective. Overall, the story was very interesting and had a good point. Mark Twain thoroughly enjoyed writing about the real life and pointed out that people were not perfect and sometimes humerus in their ways. I really love Mark Twain because he is a true native author.

Rasmussen, R. Kent. "'The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County'." Bloom's How to Write about Mark Twain. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Center Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Wayne, Tiffany K. "Walden." Encyclopedia of Transcendentalism. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.