|
Have questions?
Contact us
Already a member? Sign in
|
Get every literary device explanation for The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras CountyPlus so much more...
Sign up for LitCharts A+Get instant access to every literary device explanation, plus so much more...
Simile
Explanation and Analysis—Like a Doughnut:
When describing Smiley’s successful experiment with training a wild frog to jump (in order to win bets), Wheeler uses a simile, as seen in the following passage:
“He ketched a frog one day, and took him home, and said he cal’klated to edercate him; and so he never done nothing for three months but set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. And you bet he did learn him, too. He’d give him a little punch behind, and the next minute you’d see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut see him turn one summerset, or may be a couple, if he got a good start.”
The simile here—in which Wheeler describes the frog “whirling in the air like a doughnut” after Smiley’s three-month-long training process—helps the narrator (and readers) to understand just how seriously Smiley takes his gambling. The frog only gracefully whirls through the air because Smiley invested time and energy into encouraging the creature’s abilities. In this way, Wheeler indirectly speaks to Smiley’s commitment to integrity in his “work” as a gambler—rather than cheating his way into victory, he meticulously works to ensure that he will win the bets that he makes.
Monthly
Annual (Best Value)
$595USD/mo
Charged $71.40 USD every year
Teacher$795USD/mo
Charged $95.40 USD every year
Literature Guide PDFs
LitCharts PDFs for every book you'll read this year.
Instant PDF downloads of all 2249 LitCharts literature guides and of every new one we publish. Try a free sample literature guide.
"Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!"
Quotes Explanations
Find the perfect quote. Understand it perfectly. Then rock the citation, too.
For all 50,152 quotes we cover.
For all 50,152 quotes we cover.
Teacher Editions
Close reading made easy for students.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.
Time saved for teachers.
For every book we cover.
Common Core-aligned
PDFs of modern translations of every one of Shakespeare's 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 3 longer poems.
Literary Terms and Devices
Definitions and examples for every literary term and device you need to know.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Plus a quick-reference PDF with concise definitions of all 136 terms in one place.
Try a free sample literary term PDF.
Advanced Search
Refine any search. Find related themes, quotes, symbols, characters, and more.
Related Themes
Comparing and contrasting texts? Find where any theme occurs across all of LitCharts in seconds.
Poetry Guides
Line-by-line explanations and analysis of figurative language and poetic devices.
For every lyric poem we cover.
For every lyric poem we cover.
