In stories like “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Caleveras County” and “A True Story,” among others, Twain uses narrative as a framing device that helps the reader draw conclusions about the story that probably never would have occurred to them without the frame. For example, in “A True Story,” we don’t just hear the story. We also get to see the statement made by the narrator that caused Aunt Rachel to tell it. In “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Caleveras County,” we first hear from the narrator’s perspective that he is looking for information on a specific man, which gives us the context for the rambling tale that follows (which may or may not have been a warning to the narrator, who was a stranger). It would have been much harder for the reader to figure out the significance to these stories and why they were being told (or retold, in this context) if it weren’t for the framing. The frame also makes the reader challenge their own initial impressions of people that are given to them through the narrator (“Aunt Rachel, how is it that you’ve lived sixty years and never had any trouble?”) and then changed by the story that is then told to both the narrator and the reader (“Oh no, Misto C, I hain’t had no trouble. An’ no joy!”). It possible that by providing a frame, Twain is not only recreating the situation of a story being retold to someone but also challenging people’s perceptions of the reliable narrator, because all of us have our own biases and misjudge people, so no one could truly be a reliable narrator.
I think that this is also evident in "Cannibalism in the Cars". Twain uses such a dramatic and politically based narrative to shape how we see the storyteller. At first when we think that the story is true we see the man who was on the train in a completely different light then how we see him once we know he is crazy.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that Twain's deliberate construction of the narrative is directly linked to how the viewer interprets the particular story. I think, too, that he might have had to set up "A True Story" in such a way in order to emphasize the importance of the context of the story and also to comment on Aunt Rachel as a character and perhaps as a representation of many former slaves who were forced into oppression and pain. So, the narrative structure simultaneously frames the story, the themes, and the distinct character traits in order to relate or relay out of the framework into a broader social commentary.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the framing in "The Canvasser's Tale" for a few reasons. [I typed the reasons here, but I feel I didn't articulate them well enough so I've reduced it to my main point] It allows the reader to be eased into the ridiculousness of the story and provides a relatable character (the narrator) which is important because a bourgeois salesman raised in the lap of luxury is probably not the most sympathetic character right off the bat (although he does get more sympathetic, particularly when his wedding is called off).
ReplyDeleteWould you call the set up of "Political Economy" a framing device? If so, which aspect is really the frame? Seems like a tricky story to look at in this way.