characters
This character tells the long-winded story about Jim Smiley to the narrator.
Who is Simon Wheeler?
Jim Smiley filled Dan'l Webster with this substance to make him too heavy to jump.
What is quail shot (or buckshot)?
The story takes place in this California mining camp.
What is Angel's Camp (or Angels Camp)?
The main theme shown when the stranger tricks Jim Smiley.
What is deception (or being deceived)?
The type of irony shown when Jim Smiley, the great gambler, gets cheated.
What is situational irony?
Jim Smiley's prized jumping frog was given this name.
What is Dan'l Webster?
This is what Jim Smiley was always ready to do, whether on horse races, dog fights, or frog jumping.
What is bet (or gamble)?
Mark Twain uses this type of speech pattern to make Simon Wheeler's dialogue realistic.
What is dialect?
Jim Smiley's main character flaw that leads to his downfall.
What is his gambling addiction (or overconfidence)?
Twain's use of exaggerated stories and characters represents this literary technique.
What is satire (or humor)?
This character was sent by a friend to ask Simon Wheeler about Leonidas W. Smiley.
Who is the narrator?
The stranger does this while Jim Smiley goes to find another frog for the contest.
What is fill Dan'l Webster with shot?
The place where this story takes place.
What is California?
The type of American storytelling tradition this story represents.
What are tall tales (or folk tales)?
The way Simon Wheeler tells his story without any emotion.
What is monotone?
This is Jim Smiley's dog that could win fights by grabbing onto other dogs' hind legs.
What is Andrew Jackson? (the dog)
This happens to Dan'l Webster during the jumping contest that surprises everyone.
What is he can't jump (or he sits still)?
The story is set during this historical period when people flocked to California seeking fortune.
What is the Gold Rush?
The contrast between the educated narrator and the folksy Simon Wheeler shows this social divide.
What is class difference (or East vs. West culture)?
The narrator's formal language contrasted with Wheeler's casual dialect shows this technique.
What is contrast?
The fake person in the beginning of the story.
Who is Leonidas Smiley?
Simon Wheeler is about to tell another story about this when the narrator escapes.
What is Jim Smiley's one-eyed cow?
Simon Wheeler tells his story in this manner, never stopping or showing excitement.
What is deadpan (or monotone)?
What is obsession with gambling?
The story within a story structure tells what about the story.