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Essay / The Use of Humor in The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras County man who lives on hope. » (Bolitho) In "The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", the narrator introduces Simon Wheeler by asking for a man named Leonidas W. Smiley. Instead of telling the narrator what information he is requesting, Wheeler begins with a story about a man named Jim Smiley. Jim Smiley was a man who would bet on anything and eventually he turned a frog into a pet to bet on until one day he realized his luck didn't last long as he thought. Twain's use of descriptive phrases when relating to Wheeler's story and as Twain clarifies it through his use of heavy dialect and poor grammar. The entire humor of the story is layered so that there is not just one, but two stories told, creating various humorous parts throughout the story. Twain illustrates the humorous personal characteristics of the two characters, Simon Wheeler and Jim Smiley. The funny story that ends with one man outdoing another. Jim Smiley had outsmarted everyone throughout the story, but he wasn't as smart as he thought he was. In "The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," Mark Twain uses dialect, hyperbole, and irony as key aspects of his writing style to create a humorous and complex personal style. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”: Examples of HumorDialectTo begin, in “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” Twain's use of dialect creates an optimistic structure between the two main characters of the beginning of the story. For example, the use of dialect in this particular sentence maintains a direct structure of Twain's writing style. "I have my suspicions about Lurking, it should be of no use to me." (Douain 680). This illustrates what to expect further in the reading as he continues to tell the story. In fact, Twain's use of unexpected words also adds a lot to the humor of the story. For example, Simon relates, “Well, this Smiley had a one-eyed cow that had no tail, only a short stump like a banner and…” (Twain 683). Such language creates humorous images. in the mind of the reader. Using authentic dialogue summarizes the story and helps differentiate the characters. When Twain speaks, he uses grammatical excellence. When Simon Wheeler speaks, he uses the common dialect of the West. local color and makes the characters more interesting and fun.HyperboleInitially, when describing Simon Wheeler, the narrator certainly uses hyperbole in his description of his frog's talents. For example, as he says: “You never see. a frog as modest and simple as he was, despite everything he was so good at. Wheeler demonstrating Jim Smiley and his gambling habits. “…if there was a dog fight, he would bet on it; if there was a cat fight, he would bet on it; if there was a chicken fight, he would bet on it; well, if there were two birds sitting on a fence, he would bet which one would fly first – so he was a good man too. (Douain 681). He basically says that Smiley would bet on just about anything. What's a stretch here is that Jim Smiley would find a way to bet on anything. No matter how muchsomething was stupid, he would find a way to turn the situation into a way to make money and satisfy his gambling urge. For this reason, exaggeration is used here to reveal the character of Jim Smiley. That being said, this exaggeration continues to support the character of Simon Wheeler, as noted. Hyperbole adds humor and comedic effects to Twain's literary devices. Furthermore, Mark Twain uses personification to describe the animals in the story. The frog is described as indifferent and Andrew Jackson, Jim Smiley's dog, is described as proud, mean and determined. The author uses the same grammatical pattern to connect long sentences when describing his characters. Mark Twain also uses allegory to personify some of the main characters involved in the story. The narrator implies that Andrew Jackson was a proud dog. Andrew Jackson is also described as being determined and strong-willed, like the former President of the United States. The Fifteen-Minute Nag is the name given to Jim Smiley's horse which is an ancient and rather delicate animal. This story is an example of a humorous story that runs into exaggeration. “He was the most curious man who always bet on everything that came along ever.” This quote refers to Jim Smiley's love of betting and the excitement of competition. This adds humor because his speech is not what one would expect from a formal piece. In the story, Simon Wheeler talks about Smiley's gambling habits and says he would bet on anything: "two birds sitting on a fence, he'd bet you which one would fly first." The hype here is that Jim Smiley would find and do whatever it took to bet on anything. It wouldn't matter to him if something was inconsequential; he would find a way to turn the situation into a way to make money and satisfy himself. Exaggeration and humor in this tall tale are used to reveal the character of Jim Smiley, which is a good way to bring out the character traits, settings and events of the story to make it dramatic for the drive. Irony To summarize, Mark Twain's use of irony in "The Famous Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", generates the overall purpose of the tale being told so that the reader is kept with a humorous thought about the narrator's dialect. Mark Twain begins the story with irony "...if I asked old Wheeler about him, it would remind him of his infamous Jim Smiley, and he would go to work and bore me almost to death with a hellish reminiscence of him as long and as tedious as it should be, it should be useless to me (Douain 680) The irony forms a calmly humorous tone of the opening sentence: there is nothing that leads us to expect to be bored to death L. he important irony is that Smiley knows he had the best jumping frog in the country "..you could wink, he would jump right up and steal a fly off the counter there, and collapse on it. the ground again as solid as a ball of mud..." (Twain 682). Smiley would take the frog to town where he would bet in hopes of profiting from it. Which indicates that Smiley is looking for a gullible person who will bet against him. Wheeler then points out that Smiley's frog has a very ordinary appearance. Smiley makes sure to win the bet he makes with the stranger, as Smiley goes out and personally catches a frog for the stranger to bet on. The irony is that the stranger is not as gullible as he appears to be, the stranger fills Smiley's frog, Daniel Webster, with shooting quail, and when the contest begins, Daniel Webster doesn't couldn't take off and Smiley loses the bet. What makes it..
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