Regionalism and Naturalism Study Guide

Which description of Dan'l Webster uses the tall tale technique of understatement?

A frog needs only an education to do anything

Why does Twain say that Bixby is grateful to the trading scow crew?

Bixby needs a convenient target for all of his rage

Why is the fact that Simmons calls Twain a wonderful subject an example of verbal irony?

Both Simmons and Twain know Twain is faking

Name Two qualities that Twain says made him a good subject

Capable of acting as if mesmerized and good at tolerating pain since he did not flinch when he was stuck by the needle

What does Mr. Oakhurts do for Tom when they first met?

He gave Tom his money back

What does the narrator's comment clarify about Mr. Oakhurst? "Mr. Oakhurst could not bring himself to disclose Uncle Billy's rascality, and so offered the hypothesis that he had wandered from the camp and had accidentally stampeded the animals."

He protects the others from the truth

How does the dialect of the following excerpt describe the bull-pup? "his underjaw'd begin to stick out like the fo'castle of a steamboat and his teeth would uncover and shine like the furnaces"

He was eager to win the fight money

Paraphrase the following excerpt. "A day came when I began to cease from noting the glories and the charms which the moon and the sun and the twilight wrought upon the river's face . .

One day, he stopped noticing the rivers beauty

Why does Twain say that the house which he lived as a boy "isn't large now although it hasn't lost a plank"?

So much has happened in the house and Twain views it differently now

How does Smiley's mare make him "uncommon lucky"?

The excited mare wins in spite of her illnesses.

How does the serious tone in Twain's voice create humor when he says, "I resolved to be a downstream pilot and leave the upstreaming to people dead to prudence?"

The readers would realize that Twain is referring to his laziness as wisdom

What does Twain notice about the river during the beautiful sunset at the end of the excerpt?

Twain is now able to read the river (this sun means we are going to have wind tomorrow & that floating log means hat the river is rising)

Paraphrase he hyperbole in the following excerpt. "I planned a siege against my pilot, and at the end of three hard days he surrendered."

Twain repeatedly asked Bixby to teach him

Twain pretends to be hypnotized because he

Wants the audience's attention

Tall tale

a form of american story telling featuring outlandish characteristics & events, often with a comic effect

What does Bixby wants Twain to write in a little book?

a list of landmarks to help him steer safely

Regionalism

a literary movement of the 19th century that focused on speech, habits, history, and belief of people in a specific geographical area

Voice

a writers unique usage of language: allows reader to hear the personality of the writing

Mr. Oakhurst is calm when he becomes an outcast from Poker Flat because he

accepts his fate as a gambler does

The narrator's attempt to leave when Wheeler is out of the room suggests that he

believes wheeler will never stop talking

Why is the "faint dimple" seen by a pilot n the river like an italicized passage in a book?

can signal many things to come in the future

One result of Twain's actions with the mesmerizer is that Twain

develops a disbelief in mesmerism

The detail that helps you predict that Twain will try to trick Dr. Peake into believing in mesmerism is that Dr. Peake...

had a great influence on the townspeople

Twain soon disliked hearing people talk about his feats in the show because...

he remembers his lies and feels ashamed

How does Twain's proud statement "I was gratified to be able to answer promptly" illustrate the humorous voice of this memoir?

soon to admit that he has no answer

Wheeler's claim that Smiley would be "on anything that turned up you ever see" is best supported by Smiley's bet on

the Parson's wife not getting well

Why does Tom have to retell the Iliad when Piney Suggests that they tell stories?

the others do not want to share their own stories

Why does Harte's description of the setting in this region most likely include so many details about snow?

the snow plays a very important role in what happens later in the story

What scared Twain the first time he steered the steamboat?

the steamboat was very close to the other boats

What acts of kindness do the Duchess and Mother Shipton do when Piney arrives? Use to examples from the story.

they treat Piney in a very mother like way. (the duchess comforts her as they freeze to death & mother shipton starved herself so that Piney could survive)

Describe the trick that the narrator's friend "from the East" seems to have played on him

tricks him into asking about a made up person knowing he would get stuck

You can tell that the people in the region of Poker Flat believe in their own sort of justice by the

two men that have been hanged

The steamboat crew implies that Twain is a baby because he

wants to sleep through night watch

How does Smiley's inability to resist a bet help the stranger cheat him in the contest?

when Smiley went to find another frog, he gave his opponent the opportunity to cheat