Argumentative Essay: Is Hop-Frog Justified?

Hop-Frog is justified for many reasons. The first reason is that he never had a real name, people made up the name Hop-Frog. “I believe the name Hop-Frog was not the given to the dwarf by his sponsors at baptism, but it was conferred upon him, by general consent of the several minister on account of his inability to walk as other men do.”(Poe 1). Hop-Frog is made fun of because he has extremely short legs. He doesn’t have a chose to be called Hop-Frog, he just got used to it. This is when he just started getting used to it. Hop-Frog is used as entertainment for people; he never was considered a real person. “Hop-Frog, and a young lady very little less dwarfish then himself (although of exquisite proportion, and marvelous), had been forcibly carried off from their respective home in adjoin provinces and sent as a present to the king by one of his ever-victorious generals.” (Poe
2).
Hop-Frog is mad because he was forced to leave his family to become a joke for the king. He became a jester and the young woman, also known as Trippetta, was a beautiful dancer for the king to watch. Trippetta and Hop-Frog are forced to do the unimaginable. Hop-Frog is forced to drink wine until the king told him to stop. When Trippetta tries to stop the king, he throws the wine onto Trippetta. The only time Hop-Frog gets respect is when he is helping the King come up with a show for his ball. Hop-Frog comes up with an idea about eight orang-outangs, he explains to the king about how the guests will be scared and entertained. As he is telling the king his plan, he is thinking of how he could escape during the performance. Hop-Frog would do anything to get back home. Before the ball, he prepared the king and his seven for the entertainment. When the guest finally got focused into the orang-otangs, it was time for Hop-Frog and Trippetta to
escape. “At length the flames, suddenly increasing in virulence, forced the jester to climb high up the chain, to be out of reach; and as he made this movement, the crowd again sank, for a brief instant, into silence.” (Poe 6). After Hop-Frog performed his act, he hung the king and his seven servants to the ceiling. Trippetta and Hop-Frog escaped from the roof as the building started on fire. They are finally free. Hop-Frog was finally going home after being tortured. Although he wasn’t the nicest person, no one should be treated like a toy for entertainment. That’s why is should be Justified.