In The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain. According to Wheeler’s story, Smiley had a dog named Andrew Jackson, who could beat any dog in a fight by clamping its jaws onto the dog’s hind legs. According to the story, how did Smiley’s dog finally lose a fight?
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
In Mark Twain’s The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Smiley’s dog, Andrew Jackson, is renowned for his ability to win any fight by clamping his jaws onto the other dog’s hind legs. However, the dog loses a fight when he encounters a dog that is not affected by this strategy.
According to Wheeler’s story, Andrew Jackson’s eventual defeat occurs when he faces a dog with no hind legs. Smiley’s dog, accustomed to defeating opponents by biting their hind legs, is utterly confounded by this new adversary. Without hind legs to bite, Andrew Jackson loses the fight, despite his previous undefeated streak.
Explanation
The story of Andrew Jackson’s defeat serves as an example of Twain’s use of humor, exaggeration, and the absurdity of certain types of confidence and bravado. The dog’s loss highlights a humorous flaw in Smiley’s dog’s fighting technique—it relies on one specific strategy that works as long as the opponent follows certain physical traits. The unexpected encounter with a dog that has no hind legs exposes the limitations of a seemingly invincible tactic.
This situation plays into the broader theme of human nature in Twain’s story. Just as Smiley’s belief in his dog’s unbeatable abilities is shaken by an unexpected opponent, it reflects the tendency of people to become overly confident in their own perceived expertise or advantage until they are challenged by something unforeseen. The story is both a critique and a parody of the overblown tales of heroism and triumph that often accompany boastful storytelling.
Through this, Twain also introduces a form of anti-climax, where the expected outcome of a fight—Andrew Jackson’s victory—is humorously subverted, reinforcing the idea that things don’t always turn out as planned, no matter how much confidence one has in their abilities.