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• The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Short Story Summary
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• Outcast Of Poker Flat Story

The Outcasts of Poker Flat Summary and Analysis of the First Half of the Story. On November 23, 1850 four people are exiled. The group consists of Duchess, a saloon girl, Mother Shipton, a madam, Uncle Billy, a local drunk and thief, and John Oakhurst, a poker player, who won a lot of money from the people sitting on the secret committee. Aug 15, 2019  The Outcasts of Poker Flat Summary. The story is located in Poker Flat, a small Californian community. Certain inhabitants of Poker Flat feel that the community is going down the hill. They have lost a lot of money and the morals of people are thought to be sinking. Outcasts of Poker Flat Summary 'The Outcasts of Poker Flat' was first published in January, 1869, issue of the Overland Monthly magazine, which Bret Harte edited.At the time, Harte was on the threshold of national fame The success of his short story 'The Luck of Roaring Camp' the year before had elevated the twenty-nine-year-old writer to a position of literary prominence. Online poker is outcasts of poker flat summary sparknotes a popular game with several million fervent devotees all over the world. It depends on the producer. Outcasts of poker flat summary sparknotes This is called doubling down and the best time for doing so is when holding a total of 9, 10 or 11 with the initial hand. Oct 13, 2019  Because the story's premise is the exile of several townspeople from Poker Flat, the line between innocence and guilt is built into the plot from the beginning. Referring to the town's disapproval of prostitution, the narrator says, 'it was only in such easily established standards of evil that Poker Flat ventured to sit in judgment.'

'The Outcasts of Poker Flat' tells the story of four individuals exiled from a frontier town because of their alleged immorality. A blizzard traps them and a pair of innocent young lovers, leading.

Book: Essay Database › Culture and Arts › English 6 to 5 blackjack rules.

Why do people judge others by stereotypes? This seems to be a problem from the beginning of mankind. Sometimes, the behaviors of people are good topics for writers. One writer, Bret Harte, wrote about this in the 1800s. One of his short stories, “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” deals with changing stereotypes. The short story begins when the “bad” people are kicked out of a mining town called Poker Flat. The people of the town were not really good people, but they judge the others and banished them. Although the archetypal characters are typical, by the end of the story, they have changed.

The hero of the story is Mr. Oakhurst, a gambler. Throughout the story, he displays the typical characteristics of a “hero”, and is always cool, calm and collected. When the “bad” people of Poker Flat are kicked out of town, Mr. Oakhurst takes the role of the leader and protector of the group, which leads readers to believe that he will be the one to save them all and lead them to salvation. Mr. Oakhurst also, at several points, reveals himself to be more of a gentleman than his purpose would suggest.

This is seen in the times when he does not abandon the group when he most likely should, or when he gives Tom Stinson back the money he had won from him. However, although Oakhurst has the stereotypical traits of the “good gambler” and a brave man, the irony is seen when he keeps himself from being a true stereotype by committing suicide. This proves Mr. Oakhurst to be an ultimately weak character in the sense that he kills himself because he can not bear the pain of freezing to death or failing everybody in the group.

The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Summary Shmoop

The note he leaves behind indicates his life as a gambler and way of thinking in addition to his views on luck and fate. Duchess, a prostitute, is another one of the four individuals expelled from Poker Flat. Throughout the story she is seen as very whiny, annoying and “loose”. As the group of outcasts make their way to Sandy Bar, she complains constantly, and ends up to be the cause of the group to stop short of their destination. Her non stop complaining and whining lead readers to believe that she will most likely be alone by the end of the story.

The irony in this is found when Mr. Oakhurst kisses her before leaving with Tom, and she is left with Piney Woods. The Duchess ends up to be one of the last survivors of the group along with Piney. When the last blizzard hits and blows out the fire, the Duchess and Piney cling to each other for warmth. She ends up dying in the arms of Piney Woods, her last words asking if Piney can pray. This last question invalidates her stereotype of being unholy, and makes her a stronger character than what she was seen as in the beginning.

In another case, Piney Woods is seen as a prime example of the stereotypical “Innocent” of the story with her naivety, ingenuousness, and even sleeping habits. She is young and the new wife of Tom Stinson. Throughout the story, her innocence is best seen through her naivety, in cases where she does not question the morals or character of the other women in the group, or when she insists on staying the night with the group. Piney’s innocence leads readers to believe that her character is weak, and that she will not end up to outlive the rest of the group.

The character of Piney starts to develop after Uncle Billy steals the horses, and Piney takes everybody’s mind off of it and draws the women in with her laughing and chattering. Finally, after Tom and Oakhurst both leave near the end of their journey, Piney and the Duchess are the only two left alive. Piney breaks free of her stereotype when the blizzard comes again. The two women put their arms around each other in a last-ditch effort of survival when the fire goes out.

The irony occurs when Piney shows to be the strongest during both of their demise, when the Duchess asks her if she can pray and she replies with “no”. She then proceeds to cradle the Duchess against her chest as they both die together. These actions refute both her innocent stereotype, and the notion that she is nothing more than a weak and childish character. The characters in “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” have stereotypes, but they change throughout the story. Perhaps Bret Harte Wrote his story to remind people not to prejudge others.

Mr. Oakhurst appeared to be a strong leader and the hero of the story, but turned out to be the weakest of the outcasts, his understanding of their situation having encouraged his self-sacrifice. The Duchess was first seen as a hysterical and whiny addition to the group, but in the end showed to want nothing more than forgiveness. The most surprising change of character was the innocent of the story, Piney Woods. At first she was looked upon as a giggly, inexperienced young girl, but by the end of the story, she showed more strength and maturity than most others of the group by supporting and holding the last to die.

'The Outcasts of Poker Flat' (1869) is a short story written by author of the American West Bret Harte. An example of naturalism and local color of California during the first half of the nineteenth century, 'The Outcasts of Poker Flat' was first published in January 1869 in the magazine Overland Monthly. It was one of two short stories which brought the author national attention.

Plot summary[edit]

The story takes place in a Californian community known as Poker Flat, near the town of La Porte. Poker Flat is, in the opinions of many, on a downward slope. The town has lost thousands of dollars, and has experienced a moral. In an effort to save what is left of the town and reestablish it as a 'virtuous' place, a secret society is created to decide whom to exile and whom to kill. On November 23rd of 1850, four 'immoral' individuals are exiled from Poker Flat. The first of them is a professional poker player, John Oakhurst. He is among those sent away because of his great success in winning from those on the secret committee. On his way out of town, he is joined by The Duchess, a saloon girl; Mother Shipton, a madam; and Uncle Billy, the town drunk and a suspected robber. These four set out for a camp which is a day's journey away, over a mountain range. Once halfway there, all exiles other than Oakhurst decide to stop at noon for a rest, against Oakhurst's wishes.

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While on their rest, the group is met by a pair of runaway lovers on their way to Poker Flat to get married. Piney Woods is a fifteen-year-old girl. Her lover, Tom Simson, known also as 'the Innocent', met Oakhurst before and has great admiration for him, as Oakhurst won a great deal of money from Tom. Oakhurst returned the money and pressed upon Tom that the latter should never play poker again, as he was a terrible player. Nonetheless, Tom is thrilled to have come upon Oakhurst on this day, and decides that he and Piney will stay with the group for a while. They do not know that the group is one of exiles; 'innocent' as they are, they are convinced The Duchess is an actual duchess, and so on.

A decision is made for everyone to stay the night together. Tom leads the group to a half-butty cabin he discovered, where they spend the night. In the middle of the night, Oakhurst wakes up and sees a heavy snowstorm raging. Looking about, he realizes that he is the only one awake, but soon discovers someone had awoken before him: Uncle Billy is missing, with the group's mules and horses stolen. They are all now forced to wait out the storm with provisions that will likely only last for another 10 days. After a week in the cabin, Mother Shipton dies, having secretly and altruistically starved herself for young Piney. Oakhurst fashions some snowshoes for Simson to go for help, telling the others he will accompany the young man part of the way to Poker Flat. The 'law of Poker Flat' finally arrives at the cabin, only to find the dead Duchess and Piney, embracing in a peaceful repose. They look so peaceful and innocent that the onlookers cannot tell which is the virgin and which is the madam.

Oakhurst has committed suicide. He is found dead beneath a tree with his Derringer's bullet in his heart. There is a playing card, the two of clubs, pinned to the tree above his head with a note:

BENEATH THIS TREELIES THE BODY OF JOHN OAKHURST, WHO STRUCK A STREAK OF BAD LUCK ON THE 23rd OF NOVEMBER, 1850, AND HANDED IN HIS CHECKS ON THE 7TH DECEMBER, 1850.

Characters[edit]

• John Oakhurst

One of the story's heroes, Oakhurst is occasionally frank but kind in motivation. He is chivalrous, insisting upon switching his good riding horse Five Spot for the mule of the Duchess and refusing to use vulgar language. Another instance of his good nature is: 'Tommy, you're a good little man, but you can't gamble worth a cent. Don't try it ever again.' He then handed him back his money back, [and] pushed him gently from the room'. Oakhurst is not a drinker. He is cool tempered, even keeled and has a calm manner about him. He believes in luck and fate. His suicide spurs the question whether he was simply giving in to his bad luck or rather, decided he was no longer going to live by luck and took his life.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations[edit]

Harte's story has been brought to film at least five times, including in 1919 with Harry Carey, in 1937 with Preston Foster, and in 1952 with Dale Robertson. The spaghetti westernFour of the Apocalypse is based on this story and another of Harte's stories, 'The Luck of Roaring Camp'.

The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Summary Sparknotes

Operas based on The Outcasts of Poker Flats include those by Samuel Adler,^[1]Jaromir Weinberger,^[2] Stanworth Beckler,^[3] and Andrew Earle Simpson.^[4]

References[edit]

The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Short Story Summary

1. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2006-05-18. Retrieved 2006-08-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. ^'Jaromir Weinberger – Outcasts of Poker Flat – Opera'. boosey.com.
3. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2006-07-18. Retrieved 2006-08-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. ^Andrew Earle Simpson. 'Coming to The Capital Fringe Festival: 'The Outcasts of Poker Flat''. DCMetroTheaterArts.

The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Character Summary

External links[edit]

The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Character Analysis

The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Summary

• The Outcasts of Poker Flat public domain audiobook at LibriVox
• The Outcasts of Poker Flat – Annotated text + analyses aligned to Common Core Standards

Outcast Of Poker Flat Story