The title, “The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” struck me as quaint and prepared me to read a story of southern locals. Although I knew that Twain enjoys spotlighting this sort of subject in most of his writings, the title indicated a sort of simplicity of subject: I mean, a frog that jumps being a point of mention, let alone a subject about which to publish a story, tells me that there are not many other interesting things going on in “Calaveras County.”
As it turned out, my assumptions proved true as I read. I struggled to acquire a taste for the pace of the narration. The beginning seemed a little confusing because of the names. Also, the way Twain writes in such a thick vernacular forced me to reread many of the sentences several times. I could not really connect with any of the characters. All of them seemed to be so estranged from on another: the first narrator seemed detached from his interviews, the second narrator was mildly fascinated with sharing information about his old acquaintance, and Smiley was generally described as abnormal by all standards. In fact, I am not sure what this story is about or what its message may be. It does not seem to be proving anything or trying to communicate some sort of morality. Obviously, the stranger should not have cheated, but it is hard to see him as especially bad because I feel a certain justice in Smiley’s gambling addiction earning a bad outcome. I could not relate to Smiley’s lust for betting on everything, and it was hard for me to understand why anyone would think to inquire about such a person. It seems that the narrator felt the same way given his swift and dismissive departure.
To me, the most redeeming thing about this very short story is the feeling of it. There was such a playful tone underlying the description of the people, the events, and the dialogue. I could almost imagine Twain smiling to himself as he was writing this. I suppose that he knew people like Smiley, who had lovable vices and hobbies, and people like the narrator, who enjoyed being wellsprings of information about the simple goings on in their small worlds. There was a childlike sort of charm to the tale; it would have been interesting to read it as a child.
The second story, “Luck,” seemed even stranger to me because I do not really believe in luck being a legitimate factor in life. I could not decide if Twain believed in luck or was mocking it. Again, it was difficult for me to take away any lesson or meaning from this story. The conversational tone and language were charming, but I could not tell if Twain was trying to communicate some sort of subversive message about the nature of success. Maybe he intended this tale to be a simple account of the Reverend’s perspective, but maybe it was meant to reflect something else about the nature of society. Firstly, I thought it was strange that Twain chose the character of a Reverend to be the critical person, maybe even the envious person, to label “the great military hero” a fool. This could be Twains way of revealing hypocrisy in the clergy. The fact that the Reverend, as a young man, helped his young friend only to resent his success later seems strange. I do not understand why he was so surprised that this young man succeeded after his tutelage. Perhaps the Reverend underestimates his skill as a teacher. To me, the sort of person who would want to become a Reverend would tend to be the sort of person who would enjoy serving others and being around people. However this Reverend character remains conflicted and bitter about helping his young student and seeing him become successful.
Also, I think Twain could be commenting on the nature of success. Twain’s own success was derived in a sort of unplanned “lucky” way in that his life made many spontaneous twists and turns, but he continued to gain fame and fortune. Maybe to Twain, the nature of success being associate with gaining fame and fortune was foolish because it was so superficial. He was conflicted about his fame and fortune and could have been using this short story to express some of these inner tensions.
