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The Outcasts Of Poker Flat By John Oakhurst

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At the beginning of The Outcasts of Poker Flat, the character John Oakhurst is introduced as a gambler, who has a calm tone and handsome face, with a compassionate, generous, honorable attitude, along with valuable leadership skills. Throughout the story, John Oakhurst shows qualities of being the strongest and then the weakest character. He shows his noble side when he returns money to Tom Simson, also known as “The Innocent”, after he won a gamble. Mr. Oakhurst considered it to be an unfair match due to Tom’s little experience with gambling and returned his money to Tom and told him to not gamble. However, the town of Poker Flat “a secret committee” gets rid of the improper citizens and Mr. Oakhurst was designated as one of them due to strong and lucky gambling skills. …show more content…

Oakhurst along with other improper citizens named “Uncle Billy, Duchess, and Mother Shipton” were cast out of the town of Poker Flat in lieu of being hanged. The four outcasts set out to the nearest town, but were stopped mid-way due to a snow storm. Tom Simson had ran away with his young lover, Piney. They offered to share their rationings with Mr. Oakhurst and the others. At the beginning of the storm, the six were optimistic they would continue their journey once the storm passed. However, Uncle Billy stole their horse, mule and some of their rationings. The five continued to care for each other, but Mother Shipton starved herself to death to give her supplies to Piney. Mr. Oakhurst and Tom Stinson decide they must attempt to go get help or more

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A California town, outcasts, cheaters, a battle against nature and jumping frogs… that might sound like the premise for an epic novel, but these are a mix of elements from two separate short stories, The Outcasts of Poker Flat by Bret Harte and The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County by Mark Twain. Harte’s story follows John Oakhurst, a professional gambler, who has become an outcast in the small California town of Poker Flats during the gold rush. His success as a gambler leads to a negative reputation and he is forced to leave the town along with a band of outcasts. A few conflicts arise, but none so severe as the blizzard that strikes them while they’re in the mountains. Oakhurst’s life of gambling success is long gone and all the bad luck he encounters leads him to suicide (Harte 674-684).

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In the story of The Outcasts of Poker Flat, four people, Mother Shipton, Uncle Billy, John Oakhurst and The Duchess were cast out of their homes and the town they lived in by the upstanding people of the town. They begin walking to a camp on the other side of the mountain when they meet up with Piney Woods and Tom Simson, a couple on their way to elope. The group stops halfway to their destination at a remote cabin. During the night, Uncle Billy absconds with the mules and horses and all the group’s supplies. Shortly after the character leaves, a blizzard comes, which consequently leaves the rest of the characters to perish in the blizzard.

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In Bret Harte’s “ The Outcasts of Poker Flats”, six people we banished from a town and were told to never come back. They travel so far and find a cabin and decide to rest up and wait until morning to continue the journey. They arise the next morning and find out that one of the members had taken all the horses and supplies and didn’t tell anyone. They stay at the cabin and it begins to storm and they are trapped in a blizzard with no supplies and no horses. Finally, they starve to death as a result of no food to eat.

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