"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"

I loved the way Mark Twain was able to make the idea of death into something humorous. Twain does this by describing the main character, Jim Smiley's gambling habits as being outrageous and obsessive. He goes so far as so say that Smiley even bet on the death of a man named Parson Walker's wife. After Parson told Smiley that he hoped his wife would make it through her illness, Smiley remarked,"Well, I'll risk two-and-a-half she don't anyway" (Clemens 273.) The thought of someone betting on someone else's death seemed absolutely ridiculous, and made the story absurd and enjoyable at the same time. Twain also used humor to describe Smiley's beloved frog as being, "modest and straightfor'ard as he was, for all he was so gifted" (Clemens 274). I loved the way that Twain was able to give the animals in the story human qualities, and as crazy as it seemed, as the reader, I understood exactly the feelings he was trying to convey about each of the animals in the story.
Similar to Borges, "The Other Duel," I consider both stories to be tall tales. Both stories have that element of humor but I think "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" has a much lighter tone and the story actually makes you feel good. The story's absurd humor had me laughing at things that seemed ridiculous, but almost real at the same time.