In the stories “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” by Mark Twain, and “Richard Cory” by Edward Arlington Robinson, characteristics of realism are shown throughout the readings. The authors include realism to connect to the reader better. Although there are many characteristics of realism, there are a few that stand out while reading the pieces of literature. In Twain’s and Robinson’s writings, diction, local color, and social class are used as a connection tool between the author and the reader. First, diction is used in both of these stories. Diction provides a sense of culture and regionalism. The reader can understand the story more, and feel a connection with the book. For example, in Twain’s short story, diction is used to provide a distinction between the East and the West. The western people are described as less educated so their word choice is “dumbed down”, while the more educated eastern people, have excellent word choice. The narrator, from the East, has a distinguishing tone and exquisite word choice. When he says “I have a lurking suspicion that Leonidas W. Smiley is a myth; that my good 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” (Twain 382), his word choice proves …show more content…
While Twain describes the West, Robinson describes a man that lives in a normal society. The society praises this man because they think he is perfect. They describe him as “a gentleman from sole to crown, / Clean, favored, and imperially slim” (Robinson ll. 3-4). This description of Cory shows local color. It refers to how the people in the society talk and favor people. This example gives the reader a better understanding of how the society acts, and they can even relate it to their own society. Local color portrays societies’ actions while also providing a connection to the