from Life on the Mississippi and "The Notorious

Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,"

Mark Twain

Review and Assess

Lorena Ma. Wheelock Gtz.

Thinking About the Selections

1. Respond: Which selection did you enjoy reading more? Explain.

The Life on the Mississippi, I found interesting to view how young boys
had to gain life, and how the world or the environment was seen from his
perspective.

2. (a) Recall: What were some of the other ambitions the narrator had as
a boy, apart from becoming a steamboatman in "The Boys' Ambition"? (b)
Analyze: Why do you think that these ambitions "faded out, each in its
turn; but the ambition to be a steamboatman always remained" for the
narrator and his friends? a.- Gain money, succeed as a person and also
been an honored pilot.
b.- Because being a steamboatman was the "easy" or most common thing
among the people over there. You could be that because it was very
accessible.

3. (a) Infer: Why does the narrator of "The Boy's Ambition" run away in
the end of the story? (b) Make a Prediction: The narrator says that he
"never would come home again till I was a pilot and could come in glory."
Do you think that he will achieve this goal? Why or why not? a.- Because
he knew that in that town he couldn't make his dream come true.
b.- Yes, because with that words you know that he will fight for it 'til the end, he
would never give up.

4. (a) Recall: In "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," who

tells the story of Jim Smiley? (b) Hypothesize: How might the story of Jim
Smiley have been different if the narrator retold the story rather than
quoting a firsthand account? a.- Simon Wheeler
b.- If the narrator retold the story, maybe he would miss some details or it
wouldn't have the same essence as the original one, the one told by Simon
Wheeler.

Literary Analysis

Humor
 5. In "The Boys' Ambition," how does the description of the boy working
on the steamship add to the humor of the story? Because it is cute to the
reader or attractive finding a little boy working at the steamboat, and all the
things it happens to him.

6. Do you think that "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calveras County"

would have been as humorous if the story of Jim Smiley had been told in
the voice of the narrator? Why or why not? Not at all, because the one that
told the story was Simon Wheeler. But, thinking it well, the story of Jim Smiley is
funny at all, so maybe it would also be humorous.

Comparing Literary Works

7. Which story did you think was more humorous? Why?

The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calveras County, because I found funny
how Jim bet on everything!, everything at all. He also was certain that the one
would win was him.

8. (a)"The Boy's Ambition" is part of a larger work, Life on the

Mississippi. Would you be interested in reading the rest of this book?
Explain. (b) Would you have liked to have read more about Simon Wheeler
and Jim Smiley? Why or why not? a.- Yes, because I'll like to know what
happened to the boy, or also what was coming on in the town.
b.- Yes, I found both characters pretty interesting, also I would like to answer
the doubth that I have. Why the narrator says that Leonidas Smiley is a fiction
character?

Reading Strategy

Understanding Regional Dialect

9. Which story uses regional dialect more effectively? Explain.

I think that the one of the Jumping Frog because there are more
conversations between persons, but in the boys one, the few conversations are
between the sailors. The language used at the "Boys" is from a lower social
class.

10. Write the following in your own words:

"… he see in a minute how he's been imposed on, and how the other
dog had him in the door, so to speak, and he 'peared surprised, and then
he looked sorter discouraged-like, and didn't try no more to win the fight,
and so he got shucked out bad." He was cornered so he gave up and not try
anymore to win the fight.