Jim Smiley and his Jumping FrogThe

Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog
The first story is about Jim Smiley, an obsessive gambler
who plays tricks on both friends and strangers. He does
not think about the consequences of his actions and he
often treats animals cruelly to win money. Finally another
man plays a clever trick on Jim, who learns how it feels to
lose money unfairly.
The Other Side of War
The Other Side of War tells of a group of young
Confederate soldiers in the American Civil War who
spend their time trying to avoid fighting but end up
killing an innocent man. The men are so sickened that
they leave the war and return home.
Is He Living or Is He Dead?
This story is about a group of struggling artists in France
who trick the public into paying high prices for their
artwork. In an unjust world they find that it is the only
way to make a living.
Passport to Russia
In Passport to Russia an old gentleman persuades a student,
Alfred, to travel with him to Russia. He promises to take
care of the travel arrangements, but the friends he claims
will help cannot be found. Alfred ends up in Russia with
no passport and the threat of a prison sentence. He is
saved only by a strange coincidence.
A True Story
A True Story tells of the dreadful life of Twain’s own family
servant, Aunt Rachel. Despite always seeming jolly and
content, Rachel, we learn, was beaten, sold and separated
from her family. People’s appearances can often hide great
hardships.
Murder in Connecticut
This is a clever story in which a writer’s conscience appears
as a monster in his own home. After trying unsuccessfully
to reason with it, the writer decides to trick the monster
and eventually he kills his own conscience. As a result he
becomes a monster himself, living cruelly and selfishly for
the rest of his life.
Ed Jackson Meets Cornelius Vanderbilt
In Ed Jackson Meets Cornelius Vanderbilt Ed’s friends
give him a fake letter of introduction to the richest
businessman in the country as a practical joke. But Cornelius Vanderbilt welcomes Ed to his home and soon
gives him a management job in his new tobacco company.
When Ed rewards his friends with jobs in the company,
they can’t believe their good luck!
A Dog’s Life
A Dog’s Life tells the sad story of Aileen, a faithful and
intelligent pet dog who always strives to do the right
thing. Despite saving his son from a fire, Aileen’s owner,
Mr. Gray, kills Aileen’s puppy in a cruel experiment. Aileen
pines for her puppy and eventually dies of a broken heart.
Background and themes
Mark Twain’s greatest gift to American literature is his
ability to write honestly and simply about all types of
ordinary people. He created wonderful characters and
used them to portray every aspect of human nature with
amazing insight and sympathy. His extraordinary range
of characters show great courage, generosity and honor as
well as cruelty, weakness, stupidity and selfishness.
The right to freedom: Mark Twain believed passionately
in the right to freedom for all men. This was an issue of
much debate in the United States when he was writing.
The American Civil War (1861–65) was fought between
the north (which opposed slavery) and the south (which
fought to defend its way of life, including keeping slaves).
In The Other Side of War Twain shows us that people’s
motives were less clear-cut than history teaches. In A True
Story he uses the life story of Aunt Rachel to demonstrate
the terrible cruelty of slavery.
Trust: Trust is another important theme of Mark Twain’s
work. Often the characters who trust others are cheated
and suffer dreadfully (eg Aileen in A Dog’s Tale). This
might be seen as a more cynical side of Twain’s writing,
but in other stories we see how trust and optimism can be
rewarded in the right company (eg Ed Jackson’s trusting
nature is rewarded by the similarly trusting Cornelius
Vanderbilt).
Humor: Humor is an important element of many of
these stories, and of Mark Twain’s writing in general. In
A Passport to Russia Twain creates an unusual and funny
character – Professor Jackson – who cheerfully pulls his
new friend, Alfred Parrish, into stranger and stranger
situations. Only when Parrish is faced with ten years
in prison does the dangerous side of the story’s humor
become apparent. Similarly Murder in Connecticut begins
humorously, with a funny-looking little monster floating around the writer’s office, but ultimately the story tells a
very serious tale about the ease with which many people
can commit horrific acts of cruelty.
Discussion activities
Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog, pages 1–5
Before reading
1 Guess: Talk about the title.
Write Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog on the board.
Tell students that this is the title of the story they are
about to read. Have them work in groups to predict
what the story is about. Ask each group to share their
predictions with the rest of the class.
After reading
2 Discuss: Talk about the characters.
Have students work in pairs. Have each pair choose
and talk about one of the following characters: Jim
Smiley and Simon Wheeler. Give students the
following questions:
What do you think of him?
Do you like him? Why/why not?
Do you know anyone like him?
The Other Side of War, pages 6–14
Before reading
3 Discuss: Talk about the American Civil War.
Ask students if anyone knows about the American
Civil War. If yes, ask those students to explain to the
rest of the class. If not, have them read the bottom of
page 6. Have students discuss in groups which side
they would take if they were there in those days.
After reading
4 Role play: Perform in groups.
Have students work in groups of four or five. They
should look at the picture on page 9 and imagine the
conversation between the young soldiers. Some of the
soldiers want to attack the house and some of the
soldiers don’t want to. What do they do? Have
students prepare and act out their own story.
Is He Living or Is He Dead?, pages 15–19
Before reading
5 Research: Find out about French cities and towns.
Give students an assignment using the Internet or
other resources, and have them look for the names of
French cities and towns. Students could use Google
Earth to see the aerial photos. Then, in class, draw a
rough map of France on the board and have students
talk about cities and towns in France.
After reading
6 Discuss: Talk about paintings and painters.
Have students discuss in groups.
Paintings are more expensive if the painter is not alive.
Why do you think this is so?