Mla style course work american literature from 1860 mla

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American Literature From 1860
Question One: Discuss Mark Twain’s The Notorious Jumping Frog
The tall tale of the notorious jumping frog of the Calaveras county is not an original
work of mark twain, but a narration he has heard in the mine camps and many other places he
had frequented. By this story Mark Twain tries to satirize many aspect of the American life,
directly to as the country bumpkin whose lengthy utterances about certain subjects whose
meaning are different and unimportant and nonsensical from the real story. Mark persuades
his quest in a small country side county and meets Simon Wheeler, whom is a local of this
county and enquires the where about of one young Reverend Leonidas W. Smiley.
Wheeler narration to be Mark that there was once a fellow who lived in his
neighborhood back in the winters of 49 or spring of 50 not sure about the exact date called
Jim Smiley. Wheeler describes this chap as a very curious guy who would bet for anything.
This he would do anything to get anyone to bet, he would do anything or compromise his
stand on the bet just to get the other party in the bet (Cain, 28). In the bet whichever way
suited his opponent suited him. However this chap would be viewed by Wheeler as
abnormally lucky, and in most cases he did prosper in his dealings no matter his
compromising situations or changing his stand to cover the opponent’s indulgence on the
endeavor.

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Wheeler acclaims how this chap would bet on anything, if there was a horse race he
would bet, if he saw a dog fight he would bet someone to bet, if there happens to be a cat fight
he would bet someone which cat would win, if he saw cock fight he would bet on them, he
would even bet on camp meeting as the guy was obsessed with betting but he was always true
in his bets and conceded defeat without much ado but they were on the minimal.
The irony in the betting obsession by Smiley was so immense that he even once did
bet on a local chap Person Walker whose wife was bed ridden and Smiley calls to check on
her and after enquiring about the health condition, mutters that he would risk two und a half
that she don’t get well.
Smiley owned a mare whom the locals called fifteen minute nag, on the course the
mare would start off with a pace so promising then fall back as the course unfolds and then
near the end from nowhere this mare would reap to life and excitedly take the lead, panting
and galloping loudly this was due to asthma or distemper or consumption for the reason was
vaguely known to the locals of the cause of the peculiar habits of the mare.
Besides this mare Smiley also had a little small bull pup he called Andrew Jackson.
This dog was not worth anything just to look at, but when he was betted upon he would turn
all odds and beat the other dog in the fight. The determination on this small pup astonished
many. One day this pup was put up a challenge with a dog with no hind legs and this was his
winning strategy to lung on the hind legs not letting go till the opponent throws in the towel.
From this encounter the little pup was badly wounded and died from these wounds.
This however did not kill the moral of Smiley, that he caught a frog one day and
vowed to teach the frog some new ropes. This smiley took three month teaching the frog to do
all sort of tricks including jumping, catching fly at height that no other frog could, he named

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this frog Dan’l Webster. He bet anyone all kind of task that the frog would do and relate to
and Dan’l Webster would not let his master down for every task Smiley did bet on him he
would come through winning his master lot of money from this bets. Smiley proudly
acclaimed that the entire frog needed was education and he was ready to deploy any tactical
skill on the creature. This became an attraction as people travelled far to come witness this
amazing frog.
One day however a stranger encountered Smiley and prompted what he carried in the
compartment he had, Smiley always in gambling mood told the stranger of the greatest frog in
the whole county an that no other frog from anywhere could match the jumping skills of that
frog. The stranger prompted a challenge to Smiley and he told him to go source for him a
another frog to challenge Dan’l Webster, this made Smiley leave Dan’l Webster with the
stranger who prized the frog mouth open and filled the animal full of quail shot near to his
chin.
This made the frog loose the forty dollar bet they had agreed upon. Later Smiley still
puzzled at how the frog did not move when patted on the back to urge it reap forward, he
observed that the frog was awkwardly fat and after turning him upside down the frog belched
out a double handful of shot, this made Smiley really mad and run to find the trickster who
had long gone.
Question 2: Sense of community and Innocence as found in Bret Hart story “The
Outcast of Poker Flats
The story of the outcast of poker flats is an old time classic in the American literature;
this short story first appeared on the Overland Monthly in the month of January 1869, this era
saw Bret Harte as the editor of publication. The location setup for this town is California in

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the year 1850 between the month of November 23 and December 7. This is a town that grew
from the influx of people search for fortune in gold mining. T
This particular town Poker flat lies on these steep mountains. Most of the locals from
this town are native of the land who have come from different background societies as the
story unfolds there in this set up Germans, French, Briton and Irish originates that all harbored
by the quest for the search of the fortune of gold.
The hypocrisy of this town is best observed as they secretly establish a committee, this
they plot to expel some local citizens who have also come to search for a fortune but he is a
gambler (John Oakhurst) and other who have earned this designation. The town detests him
because of how he has won several bets leaving the locals loosing several thousand dollars,
price horses and worthy citizen the plot is to hang two folk and banish the rest which included
women from frequenting this region.
This they have the ill motive of hanging of John Oakhurst so as to get back their loses
of the amount they had lost in the gambling expeditions. They also harbored the notion of
hanging a local drunkard and thief known as Uncle Billy. The other group that was to be
evicted was two prostitute the Duchess and the Mother Shipton whom the town secret
committee planed to banish from the town of Poker Flat. The hypocrisy of this tiny town is
also carried forward by a resident of this town one Jake Woods the parent to one Piney Woods
who elopes with Tom Simson a young lad who admires the gamblers kindness as they had
earlier encountered and lost $40 to him and this amount was later reimbursed back to this lad,
the father of this prudent girl had detested this reunion and made the couple to run away from
this town to the neighboring town for refuge and settlement there.

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The town had no moral judgment and in their eyes they view this banishment of this
outcast as just and in the case of the one Oakhurst, they had no moral to banish him out of the
town for he had not robbed him anything but they had obliged and sat with him in those
gambling session and lost their earnings lawfully (Cain, 44). When one character Jim Wheeler
agrees that Oakhurst should be hanged and the amount they had lost be forcefully taken back
to cover the damages the resident had gone in the hand of this gambler. In all moral judgment
this fellow was maliciously evicted due to envy and the hypocrisy of this town folks.
The gambler was innocent of the crime against him, he is later in the story very
compassionate around the young lad, and this is observed when he gave this young chap his
snow shoes to walk back to the town to look for help and supplies. This act of unselfishness is
best practiced by the kind nature of this gambler, when he sacrifices his life for the life of the
young chap by offering the snow shoes which the boy uses to tread back to the town of Poker
Flat.
The other kind of innocence and an act of selflessness is observed when one of the
prostitute dying offers some supplies she had stored away for the young couple so as to
sustain them through the storm. And then again this is observed when the Duchess cradled the
young prudent girl the bride to be of the young Tom Simson from the scorching cold weather
from the blizzard of the snowing storm outside the semi roofless cabin. However the cold is
so extreme that its freezes the life out of both this women before help could arrive.
Both of this outcast women who were considered outcast in the society turned to be
the caring surrogate mother to the young prudent girl Piney Woods, they both offer her help
and are very considerate and goes on the extreme of even sacrificing their life for the life of
this young prudent girl, without consideration of that the father of the girl is the one of the

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committee member who had advised the banishment of the outcast although they had no idea
they were harboring outcast till the last minute.
The outcast in this story are considered to be humble and heroes as the story unfolds
they are so human and caring toward the new occupant who joined the band wagon to the
search of new settlement from the one they had both escaped from. Oakhurst although
considered by the community in the small town of Poker Flat as a villain, he is a very
considerate and compassion fellow. His compassion is so immense that he chooses to end his
life so as to save the life of the young couple than save his.
Another sympathetic case of unconditional love is portrayed by the women who are in
the eyes of the Poker Flat viewed as prostitute but later out of human compassion turn to be
the surrogate mothers of the young girl, the first act of compassion is seen as the Mother
Shipon hides some supplies for the young couples so they don’t starve to death. And the
second act is seen when the Duchess as for prayers and then holds the young girl from the
blizzard from the snow storm. This they both die nobly with peace in their faces that even the
villagers after finding them are so ashamed and guilty as the picture portrayed is so peaceful.
The last outcast who is the drunkard and the thief who has no heart in the story and is
the one who should have been condemned to death as he even stole from the young couples
who had offered to help the outcast with supplies and recommended a place for taking refuge
from the blizzard. This is the kind of person that the world should get rid off, for he takes
opportunity and takes advantage of this in the wrong manner inconsiderate of the outcome of
the rest of the outcasts.
Question 6: Connection of the passage “What then is the American, this new man?”
from De Crevecoeur to the readings covered so far.

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St John De Crevecoeur who was a French Citizen in the letters from an American
Farmer. Wrote the passage “What then is the American, this new man?” when he was
emphasizing on the new American man who has been as a result of immigration of people
from different races. He meant that today’s American are as result of intermarriage of many
races which migrated to America mainly in search of Jobs. He specified that America is made
up of a mixture of Irish, French, Dutch, Swedes, English, Scotch, Germans, Africans and
other small races which have intermarried over the years.
The passage relate to the writings of Bret Harte in his writing of “Outcast of Poker
Flat. Harte based his writing in California mining community during 1850 when the country
towns grew with the influx of people who were seeking fortunes from the mining sites of gold
(Cain, 47). The influx of people was from different races that were migrating to the regions
where gold was being mined. Due to the increase of people in such regions town started to
develop and the growth of towns brought in emergence of different races residing in the same
place hence they intermarried.
Sense of community changed due to urbanization of the different communities which
were residing in the same place. The different communities/races had to develop a common
language and way of living therefore unknowingly they developed a common culture which
they were able to relate with. Intermarrying made each race to loss its identity as a community
as they intermarried from different races.
De Crevecoeur emphasized on how American people are unique as there isn’t any
other country with such a combination of many races that have migrated to form a nation. The
Americans were sometime scattered all over Europe and other continents before they

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migrated to United either in search of Jobs or as slaves. Hence, the diversity of its citizen has
made the society unique in its operations and governance.

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Works Cited
Cain, William. American Literature Vol. 2. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2004