Twain vs. Whitcher

When two authors set out to do the same thing, it is only natural to want to compare them. This is especially true when two very different authors are involved. On one side, there is Mark Twain, a man who is so well known, that he is an icon of American Literature. On the other, there is Frances Miriam Berry Whitcher, a woman who is a relative stranger to most readers (I had never even heard of her until this course). What is it that these two very different people did in common? Well, regardless of their notoriety, both created humorous narratives which belong to the same type of category—the “shaggy-dog” story. Still, the style and length of each is far different from the other, and thus leads to the ultimate in opinionated questions: Which makes for a better use of humor?

First up is Twain’s, “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog,” a tale where in a little over six pages, he tells of his quest to find out about one Mr. Leonidas W. Smiley. Of course, he never discovers anything about the man, instead receiving much pointless information about a Mr. Jim Smiley. With him, the reader learns of all of Mr. Smiley’s failed exploits in the world of gambling, many of which are nothing more than unfortunate luck (like his poor pup who encountered a dog with no hind legs). The stories final words are merely Twain’s muttering of a curse upon the head of this already cursed Mr. Smiley. This slight pun at the end is really the only outright humor, the rest depends entirely on the story’s merits as a lengthy, “shaggy-dog” tale.

Now there is Whitcher’s, “Hezekiah Bedott,” a story where a widow spends about two pages recounting (in an awful round-a-bout way) an observation her late husband wanted to share with her. Still, what is interesting about this piece is not the man’s final words, but rather, that in this mire of pointless details, Widow Bedott says some mightily ironic words of her own, stating:

I most forgot, I was gwine to tell you what he said to me that evenin’, and when a body begins to tell a thing I believe in finishin’ on’t some time or other. Some folks have a way of talkin’ round and round and round for evermore, and never comin’ to the pint. Now, there’s Miss Jinkins… (70)

Obviously, the Widow recognizes how frustrating “talkin’ round and round” can be, yet she blazes ahead failing to head her own advice. Her irony in this “shaggy-dog” story is like the joke within a joke, and though the story may be pointless, at least there are these brief moments of easy comedy.

Furthermore, by implementing the widow persona, Whitcher is able to jump right into her narration with no preamble or introduction. The audience willing accepts what follows to be just the ramblings of some dear old lady, and there needn’t be further explanation. It is the reason why Whitcher can create and complete her “shaggy-dog” story in such a truncated space, for a “shaggy-dog” is exactly what the listener expects from someone like Widow Bedott. Although she may not be as renowned as Twain, Whitcher’s style and story with its bits of injected ironic humor and widow persona far out-do the icon’s, leaving me feeling oddly satisfied by what should be a pointless yarn.

Whitcher, Frances Miriam Berry. “Hezekiah Bedott.” Redressing the Balance: American Women's Literary Humor from Colonial Times to the 1980s. Ed. Nancy Walker and Zita Dresner. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1988. 69-71.