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Stereotypes In The Outcasts Of Poker Flat By Bret Harte

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Bret Harte an American writer known for his touch of local color, settings of the California gold rush and his character stereotypes such as “the grizzled prospector, the dance-hall girl with a heart of gold, and the smooth gambler” (505) in his literary works. Some of these portrayals of the west so famous that they have long endured past the gold rush to modern culture (505). These character stereotypes These styles Harte developed shine through in many of his short stories such as “The Outcasts of Poker Flat”, “The Luck of Roaring Camp”, and “The Idyll of Red Gulch”. “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” is a short story about a group of outcasts whom are said to be tainting the town of poker flat with their behavior. Upon their banishment they …show more content…

The “Outcasts” consisted of a professional poker player, "John Oakhurst", "The Duchess", a saloon girl; "Mother Shipton", a madam; and "Uncle Billy", the town drunk and a suspected robber. By directly characterizing each of the outcasts using third person narration, I now know many things about them, the same level of understanding could not be met with the use of first or second person due to the fact that the narrator himself indirectly characterizes “The Outcast” helping us infer and understand more about them. Just by knowing that Uncle Billy …show more content…

Since the camp had started to care of the child the mines have flown gold and luck was at an all time high until a terrible storm hits and the town and all its luck is gone including the child may he rest in peace. What really shines through in this story is the use of comic relief to keep the tone of the story light and fun rather than sad. In a story where much tragedy strikes you need a way to keep it from becoming a sad and gloomy tale. This is where Harte's expertly crafted comic relief comes in. Right after the announcement that Cherokee Sal had died, and the men are speculating whether or not the child may live, the narrator claims that “the only other being of Sal's sex and maternal condition in the settlement was an ass” (36). This is a great use of comic relief due to the seriousness of the question at hand, the life of a child, which is then answered by a suggestion that they leave all the duties of a mother to a female

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