# Jim Wolf and the Cats explained — The Autobiography of Mark Twain

> Chapter companion for The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Mark Twain.

## What happens

Mark Twain recounts the story of Jim Wolf, a bashful young man from the country who lived with his family in the late 1840s. Jim's extreme shyness leads to a comical disaster when, goaded by young Sam, he attempts to chase cats off a snowy roof, only to slide down and land in a tray of hot candy at a party. Twain later reflects on how he wrote up the anecdote for publication, saw it plagiarized, and eventually told it again in London to a young American con artist who exploited his and Stoddard's generosity.

## Themes in this chapter

### Memory and Autobiography

Twain recalls a vivid childhood incident from nearly fifty years earlier, reflecting on how the story evolved through publication and plagiarism.

### Hypocrisy and Human Nature

The chapter explores human gullibility and deception through the young con artist who exploits Twain and Stoddard's sympathy, and Twain's own youthful manipulation of Jim Wolf.

### Family and Domestic Life

The setting of the Clemens household, including a candy-pull party and the domestic routines of the family, provides the backdrop for the story.

## Character check-ins

### Mark Twain

Narrator and young instigator of Jim's roof adventure; later a struggling writer in New York and a lecturer in London.

### Jim Wolf

A painfully bashful young man who, goaded by young Sam, tries to drive cats off a roof and ends up sliding into a tray of hot candy at a party.

### Jane Lampton Clemens

Mentioned as Twain's 'good and gentle mother' in whose presence Jim Wolf could not feel at ease.

### Charles Warren Stoddard

Twain's private secretary and companion in London; a gentle, trusting poet who is easily moved by hard-luck stories.

### George Dolby

Twain's lecture agent in London; a jovial, skeptical man who warns Twain and Stoddard about a young con artist.

## Key lines

> He was too bashful to move. It is to this kind that untoward things happen.

Jim's extreme shyness made him a magnet for misfortune.

_Twain reflects on how Jim's bashfulness led to the wasp-stinging incident and the roof disaster._

> I believe I enjoy it now as much as I did then; yet it is nearly fifty years ago.

The memory of Jim's rooftop misadventure still delights Twain after half a century.

_Twain emphasizes the enduring humor of the childhood prank._

> I had learned, a good while before that, that it is not wise to keep the fires going under a slander unless you can get some large advantage out of keeping it alive.

Twain had discovered that ignoring a slander is often the best way to let it die.

_Twain's philosophy on handling accusations of plagiarism._

> It was a choice and satisfactory menagerie, this pensive poet and this gladsome gorilla.

The contrast between the sensitive Stoddard and the boisterous Dolby made for an entertaining household.

_Twain affectionately describes his London companions._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se/chapters/volume-i-jim-wolf-and-the-cats
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_autobiography_of_mark_twain_se/chapters