The Outcasts Of Poker Flat
Speaking of regionalistic qualities, The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and The Outcasts of Poker Flat are very much alike when it comes to their characters. The dialect used in both stories indicates that the setting must be somewhere in the “Wild West”. For example, in Twain’s story, Simon Wheeler is telling the narrator tall tales about some fellow named Jim Smiley and his tone tells you exactly the type of man he is: somewhat unintelligent compared to the narrator. The sentence structure is different from what the narrator is used to. Twain used the word “ketched” in his story instead of ‘caught’ to indicate how Simon was pronouncing his words, and it gives the reader a clear understanding of how people of this town talked (Twain
664). Additionally, The Outcasts of Poker Flat has similar vocabulary as The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. For example, Mr. Oakhurst says: “I reckon they’re after somebody”. In the world today, people do not say reckon unless someone is from Texas or Alabama, where they have a different type of slang. This vocabulary is also shown when Jim Wheeler in The Outcasts of Poker Flat states “It’s agin justice” (Harte 674, 676). It shows how their dialect is so much different from what people are used to, and also shows how much these two stories are alike. These stories are also alike by having their main characters be gamblers. In the “Wild West”, there were always gamblers around, which is where the stories take place. Mr. Oakhurst is said to have gambled a lot of money out of Poker Flat and is considered an outcast for doing so (Harte 676).
However, the stories also have some differences. For example, the narrators of the stories are both completely from different views. The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’s narrator has the the regionalistic quality of being an educated observer who learns something from the characters while still keeping a distance from them. The narrator in this story is looking for a man named Leonidas W. Smiley, but is only able to find out of a man named Jim Smiley. During the hunt for this man, the narrator runs into a guy at the bar named Simon Wheeler and is sucked into Simon’s stories about Jim Smiley.
664). Additionally, The Outcasts of Poker Flat has similar vocabulary as The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. For example, Mr. Oakhurst says: “I reckon they’re after somebody”. In the world today, people do not say reckon unless someone is from Texas or Alabama, where they have a different type of slang. This vocabulary is also shown when Jim Wheeler in The Outcasts of Poker Flat states “It’s agin justice” (Harte 674, 676). It shows how their dialect is so much different from what people are used to, and also shows how much these two stories are alike. These stories are also alike by having their main characters be gamblers. In the “Wild West”, there were always gamblers around, which is where the stories take place. Mr. Oakhurst is said to have gambled a lot of money out of Poker Flat and is considered an outcast for doing so (Harte 676).
However, the stories also have some differences. For example, the narrators of the stories are both completely from different views. The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’s narrator has the the regionalistic quality of being an educated observer who learns something from the characters while still keeping a distance from them. The narrator in this story is looking for a man named Leonidas W. Smiley, but is only able to find out of a man named Jim Smiley. During the hunt for this man, the narrator runs into a guy at the bar named Simon Wheeler and is sucked into Simon’s stories about Jim Smiley.