The Notorious Jumping frog of Calaveras County Reflection

Scott Lee
Mrs. Himes
H.A.L. P.6
12/04/07
The Notorious Jumping frog of Calaveras County Reflection
In “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” Mark Twain uses characterizations and irony to make his story interesting. The characterization of Jim Smiley and one of the bets Jim has are the examples. First of all, in the beginning of the story, Mark Twain describes Jim Smiley, the character, “he was the curiousest man about always betting on anything that turned up you ever see, if he could get anybody to bet on the other side; and if he couldn’t he’d change sides” (Twain 526). Because of this characterization, the readers can easily understand how the story goes and how Jim likes to bet on anything. Second of all, the irony of this story also keeps the readers interested in this story. One of the bets Jim Smiley has in this story is the dog racing. Twain explains how Jim loses his bet, “He give Smiley a look, as much as to say his heart was broke, and it was his fault, for putting up a dog that hadn’t no hind legs for him to take holt of, which was his main dependence in a fight, and then he limped off a piece and laid down and died” (Twain 527). In the beginning of the story, the author describes how luck Jim Smiley is on bets, but in this, he makes this scene as an irony so that the author can convey how unlucky Jim Smiley is sometimes.