[GreenFaleen]

so I had no motivation last night and woke up at 5 this morning to write this damned thing and now I still cant get motivated and its due in 2 hours

[White Thunder]

yeah this is totally something i would expect from some one that drives a tc

[GreenFaleen]

Originally Posted by White Thunder yeah this is totally something i would expect from some one that drives a tc

the fact that you can fist your exhaust pipe takes all your talking privileges

[White Thunder]

thats not the only thing i can fist

[GreenFaleen]

thats just gross

[98stangv6]

What kind of paper is it

[GreenFaleen]

a reading response im doing the clash of American society in the nortoious jumping frog of calavarus county

[98stangv6]

that sounds confusing lol.

[GreenFaleen]

nah more annyoing lol

[MyGT]

how long?

[graystang01]

just make shit up

[GreenFaleen]

Originally Posted by proto89 how long?

1000 words so about 4 pages

Originally Posted by graystang01 just make shit up

duh what do you think ive been doing lol

due in an hour

[Onemanzu]

i'd dip mai balls in it.

good luck.

[sgrcltpunk]

^^^ what they are going to do to you

[GreenFaleen]

^ stick a thermometer in my ass??

[GreenFaleen]

done read up boys

In Mark Twain’s story “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” Twain tells of a man sent on a simple errand by a friend to find information on a man, but in turn is introduced to the great south-western tradition of story telling in a clash of American society. The somewhat snobby narrator of the story travels to an old gold mine to inquire about a man only to be twisted into listening to the old reemissions of an aging south-westerner. As the story goes on the narrator is pulled into a society very backwards from his own.
The story begins with a well spoken eastern man telling a bit of background as to why he was traveling to the old mining town of Angel’s. This old gold mining town is where he first meets Simon Wheeler. The first clue into the clash of American society’s is the narrators description of Wheeler, “I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the bar-room stove of the old, dilapidated tavern in the ancient mining camp of Angel's, and I noticed that he was fat and bald-headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countenance” (Twain 1273). The narrator uses an array of large complex words to describe this small rural uneducated town. The description in itself is a perfect example of the clash on American society’s, wherein the well educated and refined easterner uses very precise language to describe a town that most of the inhabitants would have merely used a much simpler and less dramatic description such as old or run down. The narrator is also very surprised by Wheeler’s lack of expression. The narrator being from a more sophisticated background is more accustomed to a society where the speaker uses expression to help emphasize his point, and to add to the listener’s enjoyment. Wheeler on the other hand being from a small laid back town is more comfortable in his somber expression, in his mind what he says is what he says, and anyone listening can take it however they want as this isn’t his problem. The narrator now realizes that he is in a world very different from his own, and must prepare himself for a new experience.
At this point Wheeler begins his story, and the second clue into the clash of American societies becomes evident. As Wheeler begins to tell his story the narrator makes a statement that “but all through the interminable narrative there ran a vein of impressive earnestness and sincerity, which showed me plainly that, so far from his imagining that there was any thing ridiculous or funny about his story, he regarded it as a really important matter, and admired its two heroes as men of transcendent genius in finesse” (1273). The narrator catches a good amount humor in Wheelers story that Wheeler seems to have no idea is even there. To Wheeler this story is just a retelling of real events, and is in general nothing out of the normal for a rural mining town that has no real form of entertainment other than that which the inhabitants themselves make. This is shown very heavily in Wheelers general interest in the gambling games that Jim Smiley enjoys to play so much. The best example of this is when Wheeler talks about Smiley’s dog Andrew Jackson. Wheeler states, “and it was his fault, for putting up a dog that hadn't no hind legs for him to take bolt of, which was his main dependence in a fight, and then he limped off a piece and laid down and died. It was a good pup, was that Andrew Jackson, and would have made a name for hisself if he'd lived, for the stuff was in him, and he had genius I know it” (1275). From this quote one can see that that Wheeler saw the dog as champion, and had he lived a little longer a dog that would have made Smiley a good deal of money in the dog fights that were a common form of entertainment around the town. The narrator obviously isn’t used to this kind of brutal entertainment that Wheeler talks about so easily showing no expression in the matter which is hard for the narrator to comprehend.
The third clue to the culture clash is that of the man tricking Smiley by filling his frog with shot. Twain uses dialect throughout the story to differentiate where the characters are from. Smiley obviously from the south-west and one to make a bet no matter the terms is tricked by a stranger to the mining camp. When reading the story one notices that the stranger doesn’t have the same rural accent as Smiley or Wheeler, the fact that Wheeler is talking for the man throws this off a bit, but the stranger seems to have a more sophisticated means about his actions. This is shown when Wheeler states, “So he set there a good while thinking and thinking to hisself, and then he got the frog out and prized his mouth open and took a tea- spoon and filled him full of quail shot filled him pretty near up to his chin and set him on the floor. Smiley he went to the swamp and slopped around in the mud for a long time, and finally he ketched a frog, and fetched him in, and give him to this feller” (1277). While Smiley is running around in the mud in a swamp the stranger is sitting patiently knowing that he has already won the bet. Once Smiley figures out what happened to him the stranger is long gone. This shows the clash of the more refined society cheating their way to the top sitting inside very comfortably, while the less refined of America are out running around in the mud thinking that everyone is playing fair.
Twain uses this clash of American society to add a sense of realism and humor to his stories. He seems to makes the so called sophisticated snobby and arrogant and the uneducated more simple and fun loving. Within this clash some more serious tones come out such as the idea that the sophisticated peoples of America are taking advantage of the good nature of the more simple people in order to get ahead in life. Overall the story is one to prove that there are no two people alike and one should embrace this rather than hide from it.

[MyGT]

lol good lord, the man has no name?

[GreenFaleen]

the narrator? nope it is suppossed to be Twain but that is never stated

[MyGT]

Originally Posted by GreenFaleen the narrator? nope it is suppossed to be Twain but that is never stated

just the first sentence is a bit....awkward, man's friend tells that man to meet this man, is it possible to change the name of "man" to narrator or something a little more detailed?

[GreenFaleen]

yeah I could but its printed and Im sitting in class so w/e lol it was written at 5am so im happy with how it turned out being that it is a lot of bs