The Notorious Jumping

Frog of Calaveras County

by Mark Twain
The Notorious Jumping Frog of
Calaveras CountyStory Structure
Frame Story:
A storyline that acts as the framework (frame) for a
story-within-the-story to take place
Its the overarching story that contains another
(more emphasized) story
It provides the background story that gives the real,
more focused-on story an excuse to be told
A narrative that contains a frame story and a story-
with-a-story starts and ends with the frame story
(hence frameit goes around the outside of the
whole story)
The Notorious Jumping Frog of
Calaveras CountyHumor Techniques
Exaggeration/Embellishment

An oblivious narrator who takes a serious tone: adds

humor by suggesting that the teller of the tale is unaware of the
humor of the story or its ridiculousness

Regional Dialect: the version of a language specific to a

particular region; regional dialects reflect accents, word
pronunciations, idioms, speech patterns, grammar misuses, etc.

Examples: Midwestern, Southern, East-Coast, Canadian,

West-Coast, etc.
The Notorious Jumping Frog of
Calaveras CountyVocabulary

Vocabulary Builder Words:

Garrulous (adj.) too talkative

Conjecture (v.) to guess

Monotonous (adj.) boring because of lack of variety;

one-toned

Interminable (adj.) seeming never-ending

Ornery (adj.) having a mean, cranky disposition