Compare and contrast the narrator of ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' and the framework narrator of ''The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County'.'...

When it comes
to point of view, "" and "The Notorious Jumping Frog of
Calveras County" are similar in that they are not told by one narrator alone.  Both could
be considered "frame" stories (that is, a story within a story). "Sleepy
Hollow" in fact, could almost be considered a story within a story within a story...etc. 
To understand this more fully, let's look at the narrators in each story:

"Sleepy Hollow":

• Narrator 1: , the author of
  The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.
• Narrator 2:
  Geoffrey Crayon, a fictional "author" established by Irving to give many of his
  stories a sense ofand credibility.
• Narrator 3: Diedrich Knickerbocker, the
  fictional character who first wrote these stories down (also given credit for
  ) before they were found by G. Crayon.
• Narrator 4:
  characters within the story who contribute to the "legend" by repeating "headless
  horseman" tales they've either heard or read.

"Jumping
Frog"

• Narrator 1: Mark Twain, speaking (in 1st person) of the
  meeting between himself and Simon Wheeler.
• Narrator 2: Simon Wheeler,
  speaking (in 3rd person) about Jim Smiley.

As with many frame
stories and almost all stories told in the first person point of view, there exists the
question, "How reliable is the narrator?"  Consider that frame stories are very
similar to gossip.  The more people a story gets passed through, the more embellished and less
factual it often becomes.  In both of these stories, this framing is completely intentional. 
The tone therefore, is in itself ironic.  You, the
reader, are not to trust that these stories are true, despite the ever present emphasis (by all
story tellers involved) that they are.  It is almost like saying, "If this many people know
of and can tell this story, it must be true."

More
than likely the main purpose of the original authors for doing this is for humor and
entertainment.  Also, much liketoday picks on current events and news stories, and the
way in which these stories are often portrayed, both Irving and Twain are
likely making a social commentary on the kind of story telling that was accepted as
"truth" in their own generations.