Paragraph 1 establishes the theme by highlighting the narrator's skepticism regarding his friend's request, suggesting that he suspects a trick may be at play. This suspicion hints at the idea that people can easily fall prey to the manipulations of others, as the narrator believes his friend has set him up for a tale involving the notorious trickster, Jim Smiley. Additionally, by emphasizing Simon Wheeler's good-natured but tiresome storytelling, the paragraph underscores the potential frustration and gullibility that can accompany encounters with seasoned hustlers. Overall, this introduction lays the groundwork for the exploration of how easily individuals can be misled by those skilled in deception.
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
by Mark Twain
Story theme: If people are not careful, tricksters and hustlers will take advantage of them.
Paragraph 1: In compliance with the request of a friend of mine, who wrote me from the East, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and inquired after my friend’s friend, Leonidas W. Smiley, as requested to do, and I hereunto append the result. I have a lurking suspicion that Leonidas W. Smiley is a myth; that my friend never knew such a personage; and that he only conjectured that, if I asked old Wheeler about him, it would remind him of his infamous Jim Smiley, and he would go to work and bore me nearly to death with some infernal reminiscence of him as long and tedious as it should be useless to me. If that was the design, it certainly succeeded.
How does paragraph 1 contribute to the development of the story's theme?
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