Mark Twain was not a real man. In fact, it was a pen name or writing name for Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Although he was never educated in school, he was self taught as "An apprentice to a printer" (Wilson 17). Twain fell in love with the Mississippi River at a young age. When he was of age, he piloted a steamboat on the Mississippi. "'Mark Twain' was a reference to his riverboat days; it was a term the men who worked on the boats used to indicate the depth of the water" (Wilson 17). In 1865, Twain became popular among society with his short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calvaras County." Later, in 1899, Twain also released "The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburg," which is also popular among his works. In both of these stories, language and deception are used to make the story interesting.
             Language is used in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calvaras County" to show the setting and time of the writing. The actual story does not start until the third paragraph, and this is easy to spot as the fourth word is "feller" (Twain 18). Throughout the third paragraph, several 'southern slangs' stand out; "Curiousest . . . So's . . . Solit'ry" (Twain 18) just to mention a few of them. Jim Smiley, the main character, uses this southern language often during the story. In fact, he uses it twice as much as anyone else in the story. Smiley's use of language shows his lack of education and lack of wanting to speak better in the story. Smiley is a naive man with a gambling problem. Jim will bet on anything, even things he knows he will lose. This characteristic makes Smiley rather peculiar in his own, special way. Jim was even known on betting on other's health. "But one morning he come in, and Smiley asked how she was, and he said considerably better . . . she'd get well yet; and Smiley, before he thought say...