The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte. The Outcasts of Poker Flat is about a vigilante committee which sets out to save the town from its moral decline by rounding up 'undesirables.' It is one of Harte's best known stories about the West, first published in January 1869 in the magazine Overland Monthly. THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT. The whole camp was collected sparknotes outcasts of poker flat before a rude cabin on the outer edge of the clearing. Conversation was carried.Cast We have also selectively chosen a large collection of sparknotes outcasts of poker flat Inspirational, Life, Motivationa. Among the summaries and analysis available for Outcasts of Poker Flat, there are 1 Short Summary and 2 Book Reviews. Depending on the study guide provider (SparkNotes, Shmoop, etc.), the resources below will generally offer Outcasts of Poker Flat chapter summaries, quotes, and analysis of themes, characters, and symbols. Realism 'The Outcasts of Poker Flat' Works outcast of poker flat summary Cited:Oakhurst's kick a superior power that would not bear trifling. Nickel slots in atlantic city A person who risks money or other possessions when playing a game prison – n.

The short story The Outcasts of Poker Flat seeks to explore the themes of unfair and biased judgments in the hands of inappropriate individuals in authority, behavioral effects on appearance versus reality and the power of nature to influence the fate of man using the California Gold rush of the 1850’s as a background setting.

The four “objectionable characters” of Poker Flat, Mr. John Oakhurst, the Duchess, Mother Shipton and Uncle Billy were banished from the town due to alleged immorality.

Mr. Oakhurst was a professional gambler, the Duchess and Mother Shipton were prostitutes and Uncle Billy was a drunkard. The secret committee of Poker Fat had decided to purge the town of sinners when the town lost several thousand dollars, tow horses and a prominent citizen (Harte 1). There was no indication in the story that the four were directly related to the above “losses”, the two men who were hanged prior to their banishment might have been, but the four were singled out due to the virtuous excitement of the townsfolk, specifically the secret committee, who had seen it fit to make an example out of the four at this time of so-called town purification.

As the story unfolds, there was no indication that the four committed acts that merited their banishment. They were no different than many of the townsfolk in the ‘Gold rush’ places of California who engaged in gambling, prostitution and drinking after a hard day’s work to relax and amuse themselves. According to Gaumbart, in Californian towns at that time where the gold rush was concentrated gamblers and drunkards of every kind and color abounded (2003). Even houses of prostitution can be found everywhere (Franzius 1997). The name Poker Flat suggest that the town itself is a sort of a gambling place. The only fault that Mr. Oakhurst had obviously committed was that he was a stranger who earned a substantial fortune in his winnings of poker games against the Poker Flat locals. The young prostitute herself, the Duchess, did not commit any crime that justifies her banishment while the rest of the town prostitutes were not.

The Duchess herself may have been a beautiful young woman, as the handsome Mr. Oakhurst had come to like her, and may have a large percentage of customers. Mother Shipton on the other hand, did not also commit any heavy crime unless she may have recruited young girls for prostitution as her name “mother” implied, like she may have been some sort of a prostitute matron. Uncle Billy was a drunkard suspected of sluice robbery. But one wonders why a drunkard and a sluice robber should be banished instead of being imprisoned. It is interesting to note that the secret committee, who pronounced judgment of the four, was composed of men whose decision making was based more on prejudice and revenge rather than on objectivity.

According to Webb the towns of California during the gold rush was composed of diverse individuals seeking to get rich quick. They mostly came form other towns and states and were concerned only of acquiring a fortune and then to eventually leave. Because of this absorption, they left the control of community public affairs to whoever was willing to assume the responsibility. And sure enough there were various men who fill these political positions. Unfortunately, those who assumed political responsibilities were mostly unscrupulous men of undesirable characters who busied themselves in acquiring wealth by plundering and taking advantage of the weak.

They were usually referred to as vigilance committees or secret committees and were elected by individuals whose fraudulent and villainous acts they supported and protected. They usually roamed around the town heavily armed and were ready to exact punishment according to the dictates of their marred conscience (Webb 1948). These may be the kind of secret committee members who judged the four unfortunate outcasts of Poker Flat. Take the case of how they arrived in a decision to banish Mr. Oakhurst. A few members of the secret committee had suggested at first to hang Mr. Oakhurst since according to them it was an injustice to let him go along with their fortunes (they themselves were gamblers).

After his death they can get back their losses from Mr. Oakhurst’s pockets. Fortunately, the secret committee members who were lucky enough to win from Mr. Oakhurst persuaded the rest of the group to just drive him out of town(Harte 1). These conversations alone attest to the fact that the secret committee members arrived at judgments that were clouded with personal interest rather than how weighty the violation of Mr. Oakhurst had been in the light of moral law. It is not hard then to assume that the verdict against the other three was also tainted with personal issues since the same set of persons had also judged them.

The Duchess did not commit any crime worthy of banishment but it may be that many prostitutes envied her so they seek to drive her out of town by influencing the secret committee members who may have been their customers. Online holdem poker real money. The same thing may have happen to Mother Shipton. As for Uncle Billy, he was only ‘suspected’ of committing sluice robbery.

In gold mining, sluice is a sloping trough, or gutter, that conveys water containing stones, pebbles, sand, and possibly gold. Grooves on its bottom separate gold from the stones and grit(West 1971). The author was careful to state that Uncle Billy was a “confirmed” drunkard but a “suspected” sluice robber, hinting that the secret committee was right in labeling him as a drunkard but they were not able to prove his guilt of being a sluice robber. Nevertheless, the four found themselves singled out from the rest to serve as a warning for the rest of the townsfolk who were still engaged in immorality.

In their journey out of Poker Field into the town of Sandy Bar, the group found themselves trapped in a steeped mountain because of the unexpected snowstorm. They were accidentally joined by two teenage lovers, Tom Simson and Piney Woods, who ran away from Sandy Bar since Piney’s father opposed their marriage and they were on their way to Poker Flat to try their luck there and to eventually marry. The author had stated that Tom’s other name was “innocent” and that Piney was a virgin pointing to a striking contrast to the outcast’s sinful reputation. However, the lovers did not know of the group’s real reputation and why exactly they were there (Harte 3). Mr. Oakhurst had seen it fit not to disclose their true state to the newcomers so as not to needlessly frighten them.

Because of this “unawareness” the lovers treated the outcasts differently as compared to the citizens of Poker Flat. Poker Flat were eager to exclude them from mingling in their midst while the lovers were looking forward to their company as Tom had said “we’ll have a good camp for a week” (Harte 4). In fact, Tom had high regard for Mr. Oakhurst who once defeated him in gambling in Sandy Bar worth forty dollars but later Mr. Oakhurst returned his money with a stern warning to Tom not to gamble again. That incident was still fresh in Tom’s mind as he joined Mr. Oakhurst in the mountains and no doubt he assumed Mr. Oakhurst was such a fine gentlemen.

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The Outcast Of Poker Flat Sparknotes