Page  2 CONTENTS  Author  Setting  Vocabulary  Character  Summary  Short Video  Themes  Other Literary Elements

Page  3 Author Mark Twain (1835/11/30~1910/04/21)  Pen name: Mark Twain  Occupation: Writer, Lecturer, Humorist  Meaning of the name: There are two fathoms of water under the boat

Page  4 Author  Writing Style - giving his readers insight into the moral climax of his time, racism - Tom sawyer, Adventures of huckleberry finn, are realistic novels of adventures and dilemma, and through these adventures and dilemma, twain relates them to the society and social system then. - without pushing them upon the reader directly.

Page  5 Author  Works Novels

Page  6 Author  Works Non-fiction

Page  7 Setting  Angel’s Camp, California, a mining settlement located in Calaveras County, mid-19th century  Twain's ability to contrast the uneducated miner's dialect of Simon Wheeler with the educated vernacular of the narrator adds humor and realism to the encounter.

Page  8 Vocabulary  garrulous [g ӕ rj ʊ ləs] always talking a lot [= talkative]  winning [w ɪ n ɪ ŋ] a winning quality or way of doing something is one that makes other people like you [= attractive]: a winning smile  dilapidated [d ɪ |l ӕ p ɪ de ɪ t ɪ d] a dilapidated building, vehicle etc is old and in very bad condition [ ↪ derelict]  tavern [t ӕ vərn]  a word for a bar, often used in the name of a bar: Murphy's Tavern

Page  9 Vocabulary  tranquil [|tr ӕ ŋkw ɪ l] pleasantly calm, quiet, and peaceful: a small tranquil village  ornery [ ɔ :rnəri] behaving in an unreasonable and often angry way, especially by doing the opposite of what people want you to do: an ornery kid  heft [héft] to lift something heavy He hefted his bag into the car.  baggy [b ӕ gi] baggy clothes are big and do not fit tightly on your body [≠ tight]: She was wearing jeans and a baggy T-shirt.

Page  10 Vocabulary  jest [d Ʒ est] to say things that you do not really mean in order to amuse people: "Do I look as if I am jesting?" she asked, her face pale and tense.  straddle [str ӕ dl to sit or stand with your legs on either side of someone or something: The photo shows him dressed in leather, straddling a motorbike.

Page  11 Character (1)The Narrator - an educated easterner sent on an errand to find an individual whose existence is doubtful (2) The Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley - the individual for whom the narrator is searching (3) A friend - the man who sends the narrator on the errand (4) Simon Wheeler - The narrator asks Simon Wheeler if he knows Leonidas W. Smiley. This motivates Wheeler to narrate several pointless stories

Page  12 Character (5) Jim Smiley - the protagonist of Wheeler's yarns a profligate gambler who gets duped by a stranger (6) Andrew Jackson - the 7th president of the United States and the name of Jim Smiley's fighting bull pup who defeats other dogs by latching on to their hind legs (7) Daniel Webster - a famous Senator and national figure during Twain's life and the name of Jim Smiley's frog

Page  13 Summary A man from the East comes to a western mining town. At the request of a friend, the narrator speaks with Simon Wheeler in order to ask after a man named Leonidas W. Smiley. Instead of giving the narrator the information that he asks for, Wheeler launches into a tall tale about a man named Jim Smiley. Jim Smiley was a man who would bet on anything. He turned a frog into a pet and bet a stranger that his frog, Dan’l Webster, could jump higher than any other frog.

Page  14 Summary While Smiley wasn't looking, the stranger filled Dan’l Webster with quail shot, and Smiley lost the bet. Before he could figure out what happened, the stranger disappeared with the $40 he won by cheating. Sick of the long-winded tale about Jim Smiley and his frog, the narrator tries to escape from Wheeler before he launches into another story. The narrator realizes that his friend probably intended for him to suffer through Wheeler's tedious tale.

Page  15 Short Video

Page  16 Themes  Cunning and Cleverness  Competition  Lies and Deceit  Contrasting Regions

Page  17 Other Literary Element  Plot Structure "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is a frame story, that is, a story within a story. The stories told by Simon Wheeler are framed by the narrator's report of looking for Leonidas W. Smiley.  Irony Simon Wheeler appears oblivious to the fact that the narrator wants nothing to do with him. The narrator's eastern education avails him nothing as he futilely attempts to sever himself from Wheeler's endless ramblings.

Page  18 References