Markeia Scruggs
December 1,2009
Lit Response
“The Jumping Frog”
According to Webster’s dictionary, realism is the theory or practice of fidelity in art and literature to nature or to real life and to accurate representation without idealization. In “The Jumping Frog,” Mark Twain uses realism to portray the theme of the society of America. Through the development of the characters Mark Twain (the narrator), and Jim Smiley’s pets, Twain was able to present the theme of the society of America by the use of realism. He puts it straight forward as oppose to romanticism, which would contain superfluous diction and figurative language. The nineteenth century American society is emphasized through realism in “The Jumping Frog.”
The story “The Jumping Frog,” starts with Simon Wheeler telling the narrator a story of Jim Smiley’s gambling plots, and how he used his animals to execute them. Wheeler continues his stories and also continues to pass on the story of Jim Smiley gambling schemes and his pets. Wheeler was a talkative man who told the story of Jim Smiley to many.
At the time in which Twain wrote “The Jumping Frog,” the American society presented some issues. There were differences in opinion between the East and the West. Easterners had a reputation of being civilized beings, while Westerners, which still had settlers arriving, was thought to be for lower class, less educated people. As a result, Westerners deemed the Easterners as deceived and immature.
Twain gave interesting names to Smiley’s pets. The dog was named Andrew Jackson and the frog, Daniel Webster. The characteristics of his dog, Andrew Jackson, portrayed an element of realism because the he embodied the traits of Andrew Jackson, the president. “ And a dog might tackle him, and bullyrag him, and bite him, and throw him over his shoulder two or three time, and Andrew Jackson-which was the name of the pup-Andrew Jackson would never let on but what he was satisfied, and hadn’t expected nothing else-and the bets doubled and doubled on the other side all the time, till the money was all up.”(“The Jumping Frog”, page two) Andrew Jackson never let little obstacles get him down, and always had determination and ambition, and that’s exactly what Andrew Jackson, the dog, showed. The story goes on to say “Smiley always come out winner on that pup.” Like Andrew Jackson, the president, he was a champion in what he did and with one fatal incident, died. Daniel Webster was a prominent figure during the Antebellum period and soared above all others as a leader, as did Daniel Webster, the frog. Daniel Webster, the frog, was also a prominent being and was very talented as well. “Flies, Dan’l, flies!” and quiker’n you could wink he’d spring straight up, and snake a fly off’n the ounter there, and flop down on the floor again as solid as a gob of mud, and fall to scratching the side of his head with his hind foot as indifferent as if he hadn’t no idea he’d been all he was so gifted.” (“The Jumping Frog” page three) He was extremely good at what he did but didn’t believe it himself. Twain’s use of realism in his diction makes the content easier to comprehend and also highlights the character’s semblance.
The narrator was deemed as snobbish because of his proper ways. He spoke English well and was well educated. Because he is annoyed by Wheeler’s speech, he doesn’t take him seriously. Therefore, the narrator completely disregards the story of Jim Smiley. The effect of realism contributes to the overall meaning of the text. The narrator’s proper ways contributed to his inability to bare the ignorance of others.
“The Jumping Frog” is a story of realism. It’s diction creates a theme of the society of America. This is presented by developing the characters, Jim Smiley’s pets and the narrator. The accurate representation of these characters creates the theme and sets the tone of the story.
