In the short story “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog,” Mark Twain contrasts the two characters in terms of their beliefs and ideas by distinguishing their speaking styles in the first place. The narrator, who seems extremely bored with his friend’s request, expresses his thoughts eloquently when discussing the matter which allows suggesting that he is a highly educated man. For example, at the beginning of his journey, he writes about the conversation with Simon Wheeler, saying that he would “bore me nearly to death with some infernal reminiscence of him” (Twain 3). This statement highlights the difference between their perceptions of the case of Jim Smiley which the narrator does not find amusing due to his greater awareness and, consequently, societal status. In turn, how he explains his discontent is incredibly polite, and the careful selection of words contributes to this impression.
In contrast to him, the speaking style of Simon Wheeler who tells the story about Jim Smiley reminds the reader of some sort of a fairy tale, thereby signifying his apparent ignorance. The erroneous beliefs which he holds are complemented by specific distortions in pronunciation, such as “Dan’l,” or unnecessary contractions, such as “any better’n any other frog” (Twain 9). In addition, numerous repetitions of “he’d bet on it,” among other phrases, confirm the limited vocabulary of the narrator compared to his interlocutor (Twain 5). These characteristics of Wheeler’s speech support the author’s intention to portray the difference between these two people without mentioning their positions in society or other personal factors. As a result, their language becomes a powerful instrument for achieving this goal, and the story’s underlying ideas are clear to the audience.
Work Cited
Twain, Mark. Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog. YOGeBooks, 1865. YOGeBooks, Web.