The notorious jumping frog

Which of the following best describes a theme of the story?

• Great storytelling is an essential component of American culture.

• Being too competitive can have a harmful effect on an individual and the people around them.

• Observing deception can be amusing, but being deceived is not.

• If people are not careful, tricksters and hustlers will take advantage of them.

Which of the following quotes from paragraph one supports the theme of the text?

• "I have a lurking supsicion that Leonidas W. Smiley was a myth . . . I called on the good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and inquired after my friend's friend Leonidas W. Smiley"

• "I hereunto append the result"

• "it certainly succeeded"

• "he would go to work and bore me nearly to death with some infernal reminiscence of him as long and tedious as it should be useless to me"

How does the diction of Simon Wheeler and the narrator contribute to the development of the story?

• Simon and the unnamed narrator are from different regions.

• The two speech patterns distinguish the two men as different and vulnerable.

• The different types of characters sets up the deception presented in the story.

• Simon and the unnamed narrator have different speech patterns.

Which of the following best describes how the author's use of multiple narrators within the text develops the meaning of the story?

• It builds intrigue y keepin g the reader wondering about who is speaking.

• it adds to the complexity of an otherwise rather simple plot

• It makes the conversation seem authentic by letting both men speak.

• It allows the reader to witness multiple characters' views on deception.

The tone of Twain's story is

• Humorous

• scary

• gloomy

• desperate

The diction that supports the tone include

• "bored me nearly to death with his infernal reminiscence of him"

• "fifteen-minute nag, scatter her legs around limber, sometimes in the air, and sometimes out to one side"

• "He had genius I know it, because he hadn't had no opportunities to speak of"

The reader is led to believe that Andrew Jackson, the fighting dog, lost his last fight because 

• his own stupidity

• a thrown sponge

• the other dog's superior strength

• a broken spirit after being deceived

An example of hyperbole in this tall tale is Wheeler saying that Smiley

• will change sides in a bet

• almost always has good luck

• wins money on chicken fights

• the Parson's wife not getting well