The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain
Read The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain on pages 679-685 and complete
the following.
I. Vocabulary to Know- Use your literature book or a dictionary to define these words from our story.
1.
Cavorting 2.
Commission-
3.
Dilapidated-
4.
Enterprising-
5.
Inclination-
6.
Infamous-
7.
Lattice-
8.
Recommence-
9.
Tranquil-
10.
Vagabond-
II. Plot Questions- Answer the following questions in the space below.
11.
What is Jim Smiley’s weakness?
12.
How did the narrator get involved with Sam Wheeler?
13.
What details do we learn about the region of Calaveras County?
14.
What does wheeler’s dialect tell the reader about his character?
15.
What sort of person is Jim Smiley?
16.
Does the narrator of this story have a good sense of humor? Why or why not?
III. Literary Concepts- Use your notes, literature book, and today’s reading to complete the chart below.
Concept
Definition
Quotation or example from the text.
17. Point of View
18.
Concept
Trickster
19.
Tall Tale
20.
Local Color
21.
Dialect
22.
Hyperbole
23.
Regionalism
Definition
Quotation or example from the text.
IV. Writing about the Literature-An Epigram is a brief, clever, and usually memorable statement. Choose
one of Mark Twain’s famous epigrams from page 678, our reading, or another work. Copy that epigram
below and respond to it in a quick write. You may choose to write about the meaning, images, analogies,
personification, similes, metaphors, or relevance of the quotation, but be sure to keep writing the entire
time. Feel free to use another sheet of paper for your response and attach it here as you finish.
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