THE CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG OF CALAVERAS COUNTY

 

Unit Overview

In this unit you will read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County."  You will discuss characterization and irony as applied to this short story.



About the Author



Mark Twain is the pseudonym taken by Samuel Langhorn Clemens. A pseudonym is a fictitious name used by an author to hide his or her true identity.  Pseudonymns are also called pen names. 

Mark Twain was an American humorist, writer, and lecturer.  He is most famous for his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  Twain is often called “the father of American literature.”










Watch the video below for a unique look at Mark Twain's humor and work on Huckleberry Finn.






Let's Read

This is a very, very short story by Mark Twain. It is famous for its irony. Twain often wrote like people talked; he spelled things as they sounded, not as they are actually spelled. If you have trouble with some of the dialogue, try reading it out loud.


Remember: You are responsible for all of the highlighted vocabulary words! Now would be a good time to use your binder. If you would prefer to print out the story, you may do so: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.




 




Characterization

As he wrote, Mark Twain brought his characters to life. Characterization is the technique the author uses to create life-like characters. The writer may use various methods to develop the characters in a literary work.

In direct characterization, the author tells us directly about the character. The reader does not have to figure out the character’s personality. In indirect characterization, the author may reveal the character’s personality in a number of ways.

1. The character’s appearance is described.     

2. The character’s speech is related to the reader    

3. The inner thoughts and feelings of the character are revealed.  
   
4. The character’s actions are shown     

5. The character’s feeling toward others is revealed. The reader must interpret the information in order to fully understand the character.

 

 Irony

Authors also use other means to add detail and suspense to their writings. One of these is irony.  Irony is the technique used by authors to show differences between appearance and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention. In literature, irony is divided into three types.


After reading Twain's story, and studying the different types of irony, can you tell which type of irony he used?








Below are additional educational resources and activities for this unit.

Practice 1: Characterization Worksheet

 
Characterizaion Worksheet Answer Key
 
Practice 2: Irony Worksheet
 

Irony Worksheet Answer Key