Analysis Of Bret Harte's The Outcasts Of Poker Flat

The Outcasts of Poker Flat Summary and Analysis Poker Flat, a small town in rural California, is experiencing some turmoil in its infrastructure; after an incident involving a large loss of money, horses, and men, a secretive committee in the town decides to purge itself of undesirables, either by hanging or exile. Among those exiled are John Oakhurst, a gambler, Uncle Billy, a drunkard, and two prostitutes, Duchess and Mother Shipton. They attempt to travel to a nearby town, but after several hours they decide to rest in a cabin, and are intercepted by Tom Simons and Piney Woods, two fresh-faced young people who are heading to Poker Flats to get married. In the night, Uncle Billy runs off with the horses and some provisions, leaving the

In "Outcasts of Poker Flat", by Bret Harte, four people are exiled to improve a frontier community. One is a gambler, another accused of stealing gold, the third

“Mick Harte was Here” was a moving story about a girl who was grieving the loss of her younger brother. Not only was this story relatable, but also eye opening. The thoughts that roam a child’s mind when grieving is very important and should be told in a way that can possibly educate parents or peers. We see the main character Phoebe go through the path of grieving when she lost her younger brother Mick. We followed her journey for the first few days of his death and realize just how certain things can trigger an emotion or action.

Total Opposites In the short story "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" by Bret Harte, the author uses characters in the story that have very similar characteristics, except for one, "Uncle Billy." John Oakhurst is a big time gambler in Poker Flat. He took large sums of money from many people in town. The residents of Poker Flat were very upset with him always winning bets and all of their money. Out of all the people that are banned from Poker Flat, Oakhurst possesses the best qualities out of the group. The people of the town were attempting to clean up Poker Flat, but they really only rid themselves of one thief and three good hearted people that had some bad breaks. The other people that were forced to leave were "The Duchess" and "Mother

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court tells the story of a Connecticut Yankee, Hank Morgan, being sent back in time to King Arthur’s Court, in 528. During the story, Hank learns much about himself and others. From his experiences, the novel as a whole tries to convey the idea that Hank has much to learn from the medieval time period and its people, even though it might not be transparent to him. During the story, Hank believes he is superior to those in King Arthur’s Court. He feels that his Yankee “can-do” attitude, capitalist beliefs, technological advances and democratic ideals put him a step above everyone in the medieval time. From his stubbornness to improve a society that does not really need improvement, Hank blinds himself from learning human values that would only be beneficial for himself and the Americans of his time. These positive aspects of life include hospitality, trust, unity, and loyalty. As a result of Hank’s efforts to change these people, he eventually destroys their society, further proving the point that his way of life is not the only way to live; as well as showing it is far from the best way to live.

In “Outcasts of Poker Flat,” Bret Harte uses morally ambiguous characters to explain how a character’s moral ambiguity is significant to a work of literature. Morally ambiguous characters are characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good. Bret Harte uses several characters in his literature that can be seen as morally ambiguous characters. Three ways that he wrote about ambiguous characters was by using citizens that are hiding behind “wild and wooly costumes,” characters that are paradoxical, and his use of commentary to create a contrast within his characters.

The literary rebellion, known as realism, established itself in American writing as a direct response to the age of American romanticism’s sentimental and sensationalist prose. As the dominance of New England’s literary culture waned “a host of new writers appeared, among them Bret Harte, William Dean Howells, and Mark Twain, whose background and training, unlike those of the older generation they displaced, were middle-class and journalistic rather than genteel or academic” (McMichael 6). These authors moved from tales of local color fiction to realistic and truthful depictions of the complete panorama of American experience. They wrote about uniquely American subjects in a humorous and everyday

Bret Harte wanted the truth to be told, he asks society to see reality. In Harte’s article about the 1860 Massacre he describes graphically the slaughter of the Indian people. The people he wrote to despised his piece on the massacre because it told the bloody truth. They ran him out of town because even though they wanted this massacre to occur they did not want to be reminded about this unholy event. In Harte’s writing he conveys not everyone is as racist and discriminative as the people. Harte says “Tipton proposed that they should send the child to Red Dog, —a distance of forty miles, —where female attention could be procured. But the unlucky suggestion met with fierce and unanimous opposition” (Harte, pg. 356). Harte shows that even though

Hamlet will forever be known as a classic example of a morally ambiguous character. He is to choose between avenging his father's death, or standing back and doing nothing, thus a cycle of death and questionable actions creates his moral ambiguity. Since the early writings of Hamlet, morally ambiguous characters have been a reoccurring theme in literature. In Bret Harte's "The Outcasts of Poker Flat," four criminals in the Old West are exiled from their town, and the outcasts' morals are challenged. Throughout the story, the characters change, and the reader can not decipher if they are good or evil.

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel written by J.D. Salinger that occurs around the 1950s. The story’s protagonist and narrator is Holden Caulfield, a seventeen year old white male, who journeys to various places as he mourns over the death of his little brother, Allie. As a white male in a capitalist society, he has tremendous amounts of privileges that allow him to get. However, as the novel progresses, Holden describes his society as a place where honored human qualities are suppressed and capitalist ideals are embraced. Throughout the novel, we see that capitalism, “the social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned”, destroys the overall society for Holden and his generation (Rand).

The late 19th century and early 20th century were periods of rapid growth for America. As there were gold rushes in the West, new farms arising in the Great Plains, and the genesis of new factories in the North, each region developed its own subculture. The culture developed by each of these regions was directly reflected in the Regionalist literary works written at that time. Regionalism is a branch of Realism that includes literary works that focus on characters, dialect, customs, and other features of a specific region. Realism pertains to literary works that describe middle-class life and heavily focuses on character. Realism makes use of plausible, real events and characters. Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Willa Cather are notable authors stemming from the Realist movement that occurred around the turn of the century. Mark Twain’s “Corn Pone Opinions” comments on the fickleness of the human mind, using the example of a slave minister. Bret Harte’s “The Outcasts of Poker ” tells the tale of a gambler and other rabble rousers who were shunned from the Western mining town of Poker , which had recently seen a moral reprise. Willa Cather’s My Antonia narrates the life of Jim Burden, an upper-class boy who grows up on a Blackhawk, Nebraska farm with his immigrant friend, Antonia Shimerda. Mark Twain, Bret Harte, and Willa Cather address Realism and more so Regionalism in their respective works “Corn Pone Opinions,” “The Outcasts of Poker Flats,” and My Antonia.

Turning Points in the Life of Bret Harte A turning point is an event or or occurrence in our lives after which our life is significantly different or changed , often it is only after sometime has passed that we realize the meaning or effect of a turning point. Bret Harte (183-1902) grew up in Brooklyn and went through many different turning points in his life, which later contributed to his writing. When Bret was only nine years old his father passed away, so he took any job he could get and was very independent. By the age of 15 he was self sufficient and did not need anyone else to survive, and he published his first poetry book.

Bret Harte, in his short story, The Luck of Roaring Camp, shows the power of motherhood and its effect upon even the most hardened, stoic individuals. Before the coming of Tommy Luck, the camp was filled with debauchery, violence, and profanity. Such was the case with many majority-masculine camping towns in Gold Rush California. It was thought at the time that men without women were untamed wild beasts, who were reformed upon the establishment of a relationship with a member of the opposite sex. Stories such as Roaring Camp fostered and encouraged these beliefs. However, one thing about this book that frustrated me to no end, was my perceived lack of a conclusion to the story. At the end of the story, the dead body of Tommy Luck and his guardian

Authors, a lot of them surround us today, they are the person who enhances our imagination, or gives existence to anything that is plain and different. In American history, there were a number of poets and authors who rose to popularity. They changed people’s outlook on everything, and added a great amount of different things in American literature. Throughout this time, there were a couple of great poets and authors who helped create the local color school in American fiction. One poet who helped in this movement was Bret Harte.

In “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D Salinger, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy who has recently expelled from school, had lost his younger brother to Leukemia and witnessed the suicide of one of his peers, struggles in his journey of coming of age. He isn’t fond of the idea of having to mature and be exposed to responsibilities and problems of the real world. As a result, he tries to preserve the innocence of his younger sister, Phoebe. One way in which he aims to accomplish this goal is through a Little Shirley Beans record which he buys in hopes of giving it to Phoebe. Salinger utilizes the symbol of the broken record to develop Holden’s loss of innocence and deteriorating character.