1a. Why does the narrator go to see Simon Wheeler? About whom does Simon Wheeler tell his story?
2a. What two animals besides the frog does Jim Smiley use for gambling?
3a. What does Smiley bet the stranger?
4a. What elements make this story humorous?
5a. Is Jim Smiley a gifted or an addicted gambler? Explain your response.
1b. What is the narrator's response to Wheeler's story? Why might the narrator have this response?
2b. Why do Smiley's animals almost always win?
3b. Why does Dan'l Webster lose the contest?
4b. What tale would Simon Wheeler have related about the cow if he had been given the chance?
5b. Read a tall tale about Paul Bunyan. Then compare and contrast it to "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."
Dialect. Complete the chart below. On the left, write five sentences from the story that use regional dialect. On the right, write equivalent sentences in standard, formal English. One example has been done for you. After you have completed the chart, explain how Simon Wheeler and the narrator use English differently.
Frame Tale. What is the frame tale in "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"? What is Simon Wheeler's attitude toward his story about Jim Smiley? What is the frame narrator's attitude toward Wheeler's story? How does the attitude of the frame narrator toward Simon's story affect the story as a whole?
1. Imagine that you are Jim Smiley writing a memoir for fellow gamblers about your gambling experiences. Write the last chapter, in which you relate your worst failure.
2. Using the regional accent he employs, write a letter to Simon Wheeler about your week's activities.
3. Write a summary for a tall tale about the cow that Wheeler mentions at the end of the story. Imagine that you are Mark Twain submitting an idea for a follow-up story in the Saturday Press and that your reader is the magazine's editor
Adding Modifiers. Identify as adjectives or adverbs the underlined modifiers in the following sentences.
1. ...I called on good-natured, garrulous, old Simon Wheeler....
2. I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the barroom stove....
3. Simon Wheeler...sat down and reeled off the monotonous narrative which follows this paragraph.
4. ...he said she was considerable (considerably) better....
5. Smiley was monstrous (monstrously) proud of his frog....
