Summary
Summary of Sketches New and Old
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Many comic forms share one voice
Sketches New and Old brings together comic pieces Mark Twain wrote during his years as a young newspaperman and lecturer. He chose the pieces himself, gathering tall tales, hoaxes, mock sermons and domestic comedy into one collection.
The subjects range from a jumping frog to crooked newspapers and an odd train journey. What connects them is an interest in how people talk, deceive and misunderstand. Some narrators are fools, some are liars, and some simply keep talking until their listeners cannot escape.
Key idea 2
The calm storyteller takes control
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Key idea 3
Good behavior guarantees no reward
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Key idea 4
Confident voices can sell nonsense
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Key idea 5
Household troubles expose helplessness
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Key idea 6
Polite procedures can hide horror
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Key idea 7
The reader supplies the laughter
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Key idea 8
Quiet delivery leaves lasting doubt
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love dry humor, short pieces they can read in any order, and a close look at how Twain found his voice. Tall tales, hoaxes, newspaper satire and family comedies offer plenty to enjoy.
What this book is
Sketches New and Old is a collection of short comic pieces by Mark Twain, published in 1875. It gathers work from different years, when Twain was a young newspaperman and lecturer in Nevada, California and the East. Some pieces are tall tales, some are hoaxes, some are mock sermons, and some are plain domestic comedy. Twain chose them himself, and he shaped the book to sell to readers who already knew him from The Innocents Abroad.
The best-known piece is the tale of a jumping frog, which first made his name across the country. Around it sit sketches about bad boys and good boys, crooked newspapers, a lightning storm, a stolen idea, a medieval plot, and a very odd train journey. You will meet narrators who are fools, narrators who are liars, and narrators who simply refuse to hurry. If you want to see how American humor learned to talk, this book shows it happening. Let us begin with the story that started it all, told by a man who never seems to stop.
In this summary
- 1A frog tale made Twain famousFree
- 2Moral tales turned upside down
- 3Newspapers, hoaxes and a bad editor
- 4Home, health and the comic husband
- 5History, romance and dark jokes
- 6How Twain tells it and what he is after
Key point 1 of 6
A frog tale made Twain famous
A narrator goes to a mining camp to ask after an old friend's friend, and he is cornered in a barroom by a man named Simon Wheeler. Wheeler does not ask a single question. He just starts talking, in a flat, gentle drone, and he tells of a gambler named Jim Smiley.
Smiley will bet on anything. He bets on horses, on dogs, on a sick woman's recovery, and on which of two birds will fly off a fence first. Wheeler relates all this without a flicker of a smile, as though he were reporting solemn history. That calm is the joke. The more wild the tale becomes, the more serious the speaker sounds.
Then comes the animal at the center of the title. Smiley has a frog named Dan'l Webster, and he has trained it with great care. Wheeler describes the training in loving detail, and he treats the frog as if it had a mind, a character and a reputation to defend. A stranger arrives, and a wager is set. Wheeler is still serious, and the listener is already laughing.
The sketch matters because of how it is built. The narrator is educated and polite, and Wheeler is rough and unstoppable. The refined man is trapped by the plain one, and the plain one is the master of the scene. Twain returns to this setup again and again in his career. Here you can see it in a small, clean form, and you can hear why readers in 1865 passed the tale from newspaper to newspaper.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
What makes Simon Wheeler's storytelling funny?
Right. “The more wild the tale becomes, the more serious the speaker sounds.”Not quite. “The more wild the tale becomes, the more serious the speaker sounds.”
What belief do Twain's good-boy and bad-boy stories attack?
Right. “Twain disliked stories that promised children a world where goodness was always paid in coin.”Not quite. “Twain disliked stories that promised children a world where goodness was always paid in coin.”
What does the formal meeting in Cannibalism in the Cars expose?
Right. “Twain is joking about how people can wrap any act in procedure and make it seem reasonable.”Not quite. “Twain is joking about how people can wrap any act in procedure and make it seem reasonable.”
Questions about Sketches New and Old
What is Sketches New and Old about?
It is a collection of short humorous pieces by Mark Twain, including tall tales, hoaxes, parodies and family comedies. The best-known is the jumping frog story, and many others mock newspapers, schoolbook morals and experts.
When was Sketches New and Old published?
It appeared in 1875. The pieces carry a range of writing dates, many for newspapers and magazines, and Twain chose and collected them himself.
What is the jumping frog story?
It is a tall tale told by Simon Wheeler about a gambler named Jim Smiley and his trained frog, Dan'l Webster. It made Twain famous and is the best-known sketch in the book.
Is Sketches New and Old hard to read?
No. The sketches are short and written in plain, spoken language. Most are easy to follow, and you can read them in any order.
Is Sketches New and Old worth reading?
It is worth reading if you like dry humor or want to see Twain's style take shape. The pieces are short, varied and good for reading aloud.
