Regionalism in The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Essay Example

While Mark Twain’s education was limited in his youth, he grew up to be considered, “the father of American literature.” A copious amount of pieces of literature written by Twain were during the Realism Era. Literary Realism focused on everyday characters that the reader could relate to. Regionalism was a different style of writing that would arise during this era. Demonstrating this, one of his lesser known articles in 1865, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” emphasizes regionalism through his dialect, his descriptions of people, and the lower education of the society in the tale.

Twain does an excellent job emphasizing regionalism through his dialect. “... Any way that suited the other man would suit him any way just so’s he got a bet, he was satisfied. But still he was lucky, uncommon lucky; he most always come out winner…” (Twain, 1865, 4). In this paragraph, Twain talks about Jim Smiley, the man who gambles on everything. While talking about this man, Twain’s deliberate bad grammar portrays the gold mine setting of Weller, the storyteller’s tale. This area is known for low education resulting in a dialect. Exemplifying significance because, through regionalism, Twain allows his audience to interpret Jim Smiley as a competitive, aspirational person among a shabby society.

Following this, Twain uses the society’s average intellect to describe the region. “‘Now, if you're ready, set him alongside of Dan'l, with his fore- paws just even with Dan'l, and I'll give the word.’ Then he says, ‘One two three jump!’ and him and the feller touched up the frogs from behind, and the new frog hopped off, but Dan'l give a heave, and hysted up his shoulders so like a Frenchman, but it wan's no use he couldn't budge” (Twain, 1865, 18). Smiley has an immense liking towards gambling, so he places a bet with a stranger that his frog, Dan’l Webster, can out jump any frog he is put up against. The stranger says he would take Smiley on that bet if he happened to have a frog. As a result, Smiley left Dan’l momentarily to find another frog. From here, the stranger takes this opportunity to cheat. Smiley did not notice that something was wrong until after the stranger left. In the tale, Smiley is unaware of the quail shot that was added to his frog. This quail shot weighed down the frog, which prevented him from jumping. This scene shows readers the intellect of the characters in the area, a telling characteristic of the region. Twain uses regionalism to show that because Smiley was low-educated, he lost his bet.

Subsequently, Twain’s descriptions of the society and their class also express regionalism. “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, 1865, 2). Twain’s description of this man displays how he appears to be part of the middle class. The ideal description of this class is that they may not be living the luxurious life, but they always have a kind spirit, and the quote clearly exhibits this. Belonging to the middle class is a critical aspect of people in this region; this description helps illustrate and portray this image in readers’ minds. The region in which people live can majorly impact their lifestyle; such as the poor, and their need to be humble. Moreover, Twain’s use of social class contributes to his lingering theme of regionalism in this story, in the aspect that different regions generally have contrasting social classes.

Overall, Twain skillfully demonstrates regionalism in his story, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” through his dialect, descriptions, and uneducated people in this society. The imagery and impression Twain makes on his readers helps paint this picture and make it clear that the setting is pivotal to the story. Although Twain’s beginnings were rough, he persevered through his struggles without a doubt and created meaningful and riveting stories.