The Celebrated Jumping Frog Analysis

Throughout Life On The Mississippi and The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County the authors show many instances of how the authors wanted things in literature to be perceived as how they really were instead of being described as how they made someone feel or being dark about their description. While reading Life On The Mississippi Twain talks about how the captain of the boat was describing mile marker on the river and he says “they all looked about alike to me; they were monotonously unpicturesque.” (Twain 2). This quote shows that the captain was describing these objects as they were meaningful to himself as Twain just saw the objects as what they were to him, just objects. This section of the text explains how writers were going to a form of

Ellen Hunnicutt once said “. . . figurative language adds pizzazz. It raise work above the plain, the dull, the ordinary.” This quote explains how using figurative language helps create a more interesting and useful way of expressing a tone of a character or event.Figurative language is a uses of words, phrases, and sentences to help to make the characters and story line come more to live in the reader’s mind. Some examples of Figurative languages are similes, metaphors, hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia, and many more. Figurative language help the reader see tone and mood in each of the example of figurative language because the reader can see or image the event or character in their mind. In a story, poem, or any form of writing, figurative language is extremely important to a reader because if a sentence didn’t have figurative language the reader may not find the story or poem interesting or even find it confusing and difficult to understand.In addition the use of figurative language is crucial when an author is writing. In the stories “The Treasure of Lemon Brown” by Walter Dean Myers and The Pigman, By Paul Zindel, the authors used Figurative language to develop the tone of their stories so that that the reader can visualize it in their mind.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.

Not only was satire a common recurring premise in all three of Mark Twain's short stories, but also his style of narrating his stories in first person was also present. Throughout his short stories, this was another repetitive theme. He commonly narrated his stores in first person and for the most part, kept the tense consistent. In the three short stories, Mark Twain was the narrator and it was through his eyes that the reader witnessed the story.

A great American mathematician, John W. Tukey, once said “The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see.” This quote relates to stories because the author can use figurative language and descriptive language to paint a picture in the reader’s head. By using these, the author can almost assure the reader that they have the same vision as the author has. In the novel The Pigman by Paul Zindel, many examples of figurative language and descriptive adjectives are present to help the reader envision the story in their minds and to develop characters.

One writing that Mark Twain is not as famous for, but is still a well known piece of work for showing the use of humor in his writings is, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”. This work starts off slow without much humor until later on in the writing. The humor picks up as Twain includes bits of sarcasm to the mix. The humor in this short work is not so hidden or subtle as it may have been in some of Twain’s other writings. One example of this sort of dry humor is, “And Smiley says, sorter indifferent like, ‘It might be a parrot, or it might be a canary, may be, but it an't it's only just a frog.’” (Jumping Frog). This shows a side and type of writing that is not usually seen with Twain. Usually the humor in his writings was always sort of hidden away and harder to pick out, but in this work, it is more obvious that he is trying to make it humorous. “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” may not be as widely known as some of Twain’s other work, but it is a good example of how he includes humor into his writings to catch the reader’s attention and to provide some comic relief from, at times, tense situations.

Within the novel The Devil in the White City the author, Erik Larson, employs several techniques to elevate his writing in order to captivate the interest of the reader. He does this by using different methods and aspects of writing; one can classify these into three main overall groups they are, diction and sentence structure, details and imagery, and figurative language; his methods can best be observed in the passage on pages 238-239 from his novel, and can best be described as an additive description to make reading more compelling. Larson is often credited on his unique diction which is heavily complimented on his usage of differing sentence structure. His factual diction produces an authoritative and controlling tone that exemplifies

As it is in real life, an interesting way to get introduced to someone is through the eyes and stories of another person. When you have no first hand experience to match up the information to, it is enjoyable to create a person in your mind based on the perspective of another individual. In The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Mark Twain cleverly uses lengthy, uninterrupted dialogue as a means of better understanding a character from another character’s perspective. Simon Wheeler may not be the narrator of Twain’s story, but he becomes the narrator of the sub-story when he backs the true narrator “into a corner and blockaded [him] there with his chair”

The use of imagery is key in this storyline and is one of the many components that makes this story so great. The author, kindly hints at this when he speaks of Hop-Frog’s adventure in capturing the king and his advisor. “..grabbing and taking control of a flaming torch from one of the Caryatides, he returned, as he went, to the centre of the room leaping, with the flexible athletic ability of a monkey...” (Page 6, paragraph 5) Another example is when Hop-Frog grates his teeth, “...a low, but harsh and lengthy (or lengthened) grating sound which seemed to come at once from every corner of the room.” (page 4, paragraph 1) This draws interest and suspense keeping the audience wanting more. The descriptive words help you imagine the amount of frustration Hop-Frog was in. With the amount of detail and description in this story the author keeps the reader on his tail. Hop-Frog surprises the audience as he morphs from the poor cripple to the self-sufficient murderer. When Hop-Frog’s work has been realized the reader understands how his exasperation fueled him and forced him to take revenge.

Style: Twain’s style is marked by the dialects of his characters, by the symbolism of the river and the shore and of Huck’s actions. The dialects help make the characters seem more like real people. The river and the shore motifs come to symbolize Twain’s view of society.

Each witter has their own style and uses syntax and diction in different and unique ways. Chapter 12 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” written by Mark Twain both demonstrate a great American theme through the use of these three forms of writing. The novel and the short story consist of the first-person point of view style of writing, as well as patterned syntax sentences, and finally informal diction with polysyndeton.

The use of imagery in a short story has a great deal of effect on the impact of the story. A story with effective imagery will give the reader a clear mental picture of what is happening and enhance what the writer is trying to convey to the reader. William Faulkner exhibits excellent imagery that portrays vivid illustrations in ones mind that enhances, “A Rose for Emily”. The following paragraphs will demonstrate how Faulkner uses imagery to illustrate descriptive pictures of people, places and things that allow Faulkner to titillate the senses.

Each writer has their own style and uses syntax and diction in different and unique ways. Chapter 12 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” written by Mark Twain demonstrates three types of writing. The novel and the short story consist of the first-person point of view style of writing, as well as patterned syntactic sentences, and finally informal diction with polysyndeton.

Many of your favorite authors bring their successful literature to life with the use of literary devices. For example, in The Book Thief, the author, Markus Zusak conveyed a story from death’s perspective of adversities faced during World War II. On the other hand, in “The Monkey’s Paw,” author W.W. Jacobs told his audience about a magical paw that revealed the meaning of fate to the White family. In another work, “The Plot Against People,” Russell Baker took a humorous spin on his frustration of inanimate objects. Although these three authors tell three completely different narratives, they all used literary devices to enhance their stories. Some of the most compelling literary devices used in these works include irony, mood, and personification. By using these literary devices, the authors effectively convey their purposes.

Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner were two of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. While they lived during the same period, their writing styles differed drastically. This can be seen in texts such as Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” and “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” and Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”. Hemingway’s style puts little focus on specific character details, which makes his stories seem like they could be about any person, including the reader, while Faulkner’s style puts a lot of focus on specific character details, which makes every detail and every character seem important to the reader. Both authors have styles indirect to their points, which forces the readers to figure out information on their own and leaves the purposes of texts more open to interpretation.