• Outcasts Of Poker Flat Movie
• Outcast Of Poker Flat Characters
• Outcasts Of Poker Flat Summary
• The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Pdf
• Outcasts Of Poker Flat Worksheets
• The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Character Analysis

This Study Guide consists of approximately 37 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Outcasts of Poker Flat. At the beginning of the story, the four outcasts are described as 'improper persons,' and their initial. Plot Summary: Huckleberry Finn introduces himself as a character from the book prequel to his own, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. He explains that at the end of that book, he and his friend Tom Sawyer discovered a robber’s cache of gold and consequently became rich, but that now Huck lives with a good but mechanical woman, the Widow Douglas.

Outcasts Of Poker Flat Movie

Outcast Of Poker Flat Characters

'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.

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'.

Outcasts Of Poker Flat Summary

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 Pdf

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.

External links[edit]

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

Outcasts Of Poker Flat Worksheets

The Outcasts Of Poker Flat Character Analysis

1. “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte is a short story that takes place in 1850 in the American West. The story is a prime example of the Realistic Era of American literature. It puts more emphasis on the actions of the characters than the plot. There are no sensational or exaggerated elements in the story; the events of the story are completely possible. There are also certain undertones that criticize the upper-class of society.
2. “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” eschews plot in favor of characters. The plot is simple; several people are exiled from a town, are caught in a snow storm, and die. This is used as a vehicle for inspection of the characters and their interactions. The snowstorm forces the characters together, giving them a deeper understanding of each other. For example, Mother Shipton grows to love Piney, starving herself so that Piney can have her rations. The story ends with The Duchess and Piney clenched in an embrace, awaiting death together.
3. There are no fantastic elements in the play. The death of the characters is an unfortunate series of events, but all are plausible when taken together or apart. The exile from the town is an expectable reaction to the characters’ actions. A drunk old man who’s accused of being a thief can be expected to steal mules. A long snow storm in November is extremely likely, and running out of food and being snowed in are sad, but not unheard of. The story doesn’t rely on supernatural acts or exaggeration to progress, fitting it neatly into the Realism genre.
4. This story also has many undertones that criticize the upper class. The deaths of all of the characters are indirectly caused by the actions of the people who are better off. They didn’t like the lower or middle class citizens who had less reputable incomes, so they banish them to a snow storm. Tom and Piney ran away from the disapproval of Piney’s father, leading themselves unfortunately into the snow storm as well.
5. “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” is a tragic tale set in the American West. It focuses on the development of characters far more than on the development of the plot. It avoids fantasy elements, keeping far away from anything supernatural. It also vilifies the characters in the story who are in the upper class. These elements join together to make “The Outcast of Poker Flat” an excellent example of the American Realism movement.