Mark Twain

Mark Twain

The Notorious Jumping Frog

Poll

How did you finf the selection?

• interesting

• boring

• challenging

Open Ended

Why does the author uses examples of exaggeration?

Point of view

It is the type of narrator an author uses to tell a story. For example, a story might use a first or third person narrative.

Point of view can also refer to the attitudes a narrator expresses. In some cases, the narrator may spell out those attitudes.

Multiple Choice

How many narrators does the story have?

• one

• two

• three

A frame story:

"The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is a frame story: a story that brackets another story. It has two narrators: the unnamed narrator of the frame and Simon Wheeler, the long winded narrator of the interior story. Thus Twain uses incongruity and hyperbole. They are both used for the purpose of adding a humorous effect.

Multiple Select

Hyperbole is:

• exaggeration

• comparison

• used for effect

• She is the shining star.

• It's like the end of the world.

Incongruity:

It occurs when two or more opposing or or contradicting ideas are connected. It occurs when a speaker uses a serious tone to describe ridiculous events.

Multiple Choice

" He was a different dog. His underjaw'd begin to stick out like the fo' castle of a steamboat" is an example of:

• exaggeration

• incongruity

• frame story

Open Ended

What is incongrous about Smiley's betting on the health of Parson Walker's wife? Why is this incongruity humorous?

Multiple Choice

How does this cartoon show an example of an incongruity?

• The fish has its mouth open

• The fish has eyebrows

• The fish is riding a bike through a puddle

Revision

Open Ended

This story is a frame story. How?

Open Ended

What is the difference between Icongruity and Hyperbole?

Multiple Choice

Which humorous literary technique would describe a small patch of ice as a "vast, frozen lake"?

• hyperbole

• comic diction

• incongruity

Multiple Choice

Which humorous literary technique would have a character wearing bunny ears instead of a veil with a wedding outfit?

• hyperbole

• comic diction

• incongruity

Multiple Choice

Which type of humor is intentional, sometimes outrageous, exaggeration for effect?

• hyperbole

• comic diction

• incongruity

Multiple Choice

Which type of humor happens when something is out of place or inappropriate for a situation or setting?

• hyperbole

• comic diction

• incongruity

Concept Vocabulary:

• garrulous (adj.): very talkative

• exasperating (adj.): annoying

• tedious (adj.): dull

• monotonous (adj.): boring due to a lack of variety

• interminable (adj.): seemingly unending

• buttonholed (v.) : held in conversation

Open Ended

How does the concept vocabulary help readers understand how the narrator feels about Simon Wheeler?

Multiple Select

A tedious story is likely to fascinate an audience from start to finish.

• true

• false

Multiple Select

If someone has been buttonholed, he or she is unable to get out of a conversation.

• true

• false

Multiple Select

Listening to a monotonous speaker is a fun way to spend an evening.

• true

• false

Multiple Select

Most people enjoy exasperating tasks because they are filled with exciting surprises.

• true

• false

Multiple Select

Someone who is naturally garrulous is likely to be very uncomfortable speaking in front of a crowd of attentive listeners.

• true

• false

Word Study

Denotation and Connotation

Multiple Select

The connotation of a word can be.... (Choose all the correct answers)

• positive

• negative

• neutral

• true

• false

Multiple Choice

I recognized the familiar smell of my roommate's cooking. If you change the word smell to stench, the word now has a ____________ connotation.

• positive

• negative

Multiple Choice

Is this an example of a positive connotation?

“She has a very energetic mindset!”

• Yes!

• No!

• Maybe!

Multiple Choice

What is an example of denotation?

• Childish being negative while youthful is positive

• Dreamer- a person who is dreaming or has dreams

• Candy apples are very delicious.

• How have you been?

Multiple Choice

What is the meaning of denotation?

• It represents something else (emble, token, etc.)

• The emotion of a word

• The art of lasagna baking

• The official meaning of a word

Multiple Choice

What is the meaning of connotation?

• Emotional meaning of a word

• An emotional outburst

• Official meaning of a word

• Refers to emotional atmosphere produced by an author’s use of language

Open Ended

Of the three words: tedious, monotonous, and interminable, which is the most intensely negative? Explain.

Author's Style

Mark Twain was among the first authors to use American vernacular, or language as it is spoken by ordinary people. His diction includes both standard American English and variations that reflect a story's setting and characters' personalities. These variations include dialect and idiomatic expressions.

Idiomatic expressions are

figures of speech that cannot be undestood literally

Multiple Choice

"Curiosity killed the cat."

• Used to say that every bad situation holds the possibility of something good.

• Too much curiosity can lead to dangerous situations.

• Used to say that it is better to be careful now so that problems do not occur later on.

• To wish someone luck especially before a performance.

Multiple Choice

"A penny for your thoughts."

• Paying to know what you are thinking.

• A way of saying you're a smart person.

• Your way of thinking is inspiring.

• A way of asking what someone else is thinking.

Multiple Choice

"When hell freezes over."

• It's freezing.

• To lead a boring life.

• Impossible – it’s not going to happen.

• A miserable, unhappy existence.

Dialect

The language used in a particular region or time.

Open Ended

Rewrite the example of dialect from Twain's story into standard English:

1. I don't recollect:

2. Thish-yer Smiley had a mare.

Open Ended

Find an idiom in paragraph 20 and write its literal meaning.

Multiple Choice

^{Which word(s) is an example of dialect?}
The axe got so heavy I could hardly swing it. My breath got harder and harder to breathe. An hour before sundown, I was worn down to a nub.

• The axe got so heavy
• My breath got harder
• An hour before sundown
• worn down to a nub

Multiple Choice

^{Which word(s) is an example of dialect?}
“My goodness! If I’d known you felt that way ’bout it, I never would have a said anything in the first place.”

• My goodness
• I'd known you
• 'bout it
• said anything