The Jumping Frog Of Calaveras County Essay

The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain has definitely been one of my favorite short stories that I’ve read. The story was well put-together, let alone the humor that was added provided a great role in the plot. The play on the other hand really sealed the deal for me. I loved how the actors developed the story to an attention-keeping performance that had me giggling inside. Although the play and the story were very similar, there are some very distinct differences. When I think of plot, I think of what major details or events affected the story. Mark Twain used a unique style of writing in which he composed a story within itself, which I had never seen before. I felt that this added a great deal to the plot, however I can’t say the same about they play. Even though the play still had the same general plot as the story (which it should), the play lacked in plot development since there was only one story. In addition, the play appeared to have a “laugh out loud” type of feeling, contrary to the story. When I read The Jumping Frog of Calaveras …show more content…
I found three conflicts in the Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, two of which were shared with the play. As mentioned before, Jim Smiley struggles with a gambling problem, which I would consider to be the main conflict. Furthermore, Smiley’s gambling problem leads to the altercation with the stranger, taking its place as the second conflict. Although these are shared with the story and the play, there is one conflict that only the story can claim. As previously stated, Mark Twain’s original writing contained a story within itself, which is where we find the third problem. The narrator must deal with the issue of boredom as Simon Wheeler begins the take of Jim Smiley, which the narrator has no desire to hear. This rolls in at conflict number