“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Samuel Clemens

“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Samuel Clemens is an example of a frame tale, where a story is being told about another story which took place previously. Samuel Wheeler, who tells the story, has a Southern accent which can be almost heard as one reads the story. The story starts out with one goal but then completely changes the topic of what the reader thought the story was originally about. It is easy for the reader to forget about Leonidas because they have been entertained and almost want to get away from Wheeler’s ramblings.
Jim Smiley has a serious gambling problem in the story. He wants to live the American dream of money and success but he struggles with work ethics, making a priority out of getting rich quick. Smiley trains his frog to beat any other frog in Calaveras County which to him is not cheating but rather a helping tool for his frog. That is a very American frame of mind. “…I’ll resk forty dollars that he can outjump any frog in Calaveras Country” Smiley says in the story (275). The story has a hustler attitude and some cheating in it. But the important aspect of it all is that Smiley does not recognize the cheating and only thinks of about the quickness of his frog so he could make more money and feel satisfied.
All in all, this story is basically about nothing. One can draw many conclusions about the frog and say that perhaps the frog was in the story to represent education. Smiley teaches the frog and it learns to carry out its expectations as a “student.” Also, there was a mention in the story of Daniel Webster and connected to the frog. Webster was an educator and the creator of the American dictionary which could be ironic and/or symbolic as well. It seems to me that Clemens used humor to create mockery in this story of the American way of life.