The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County Themes

Though Jim Smiley appears to be extraordinarily lucky, it is partly through his cunning and cleverness that he is able to win bets. He is finally outsmarted by a stranger, who beats him through che...

Jim Smiley is an incorrigible gambler. Though he may like the money he wins, it is also clear that he just enjoys the thrill of competition. He frequently bets on the underdog or bets on really awk...

Smiley himself tends to be fairly honest, though it might be possible to argue that his animals allow him to practice deception, since each in turn looks like nothing special or even like it could...

Though the eastern and western United States aren’t specifically contrasted in this short story, we do see a contrast between the educated, refined narrator from the East (who also happens to...