In Bret Harte’s “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” the characters act in a way that make them morally ambiguous. During late November of 1850, in the town of Poker Flat, California, a vigilante committee round up some "undesirables" and banish them from their town. The "undesirables" are John Oakhurst, a gambler; Uncle Billy, a thief; and two women—Duchess, a prostitute, and Mother Shipton. The character's behavior discourage readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good. “Bret’s energies are devoted to manipulating his characters for effect, not to realizing them as human beings.”The Outcasts are essentially civilized beings under the wild and wooly costumes, morally abiding citizens hidden by the exotic customs and outlandish behavior. …show more content…
An interesting factor about the story “Outcasts of Poker Flat”, was the choice of characters that were exiled. There was John Oakhurst, a successful gambler, the two prostitutes “The Duchess” and “Mother Shipton” and “Uncle Billy” a town thief and consistent drunk. Willingly, Tom Simson and his girlfriend Piney Woods joined these outcasts since Tom had a high admiration and respect for Mr. Oakhurst. In conclusion,these characters aren’t different when considering a normal society. We all have heard of prostitutes, gamblers thieves, drunks, and young lovers. What makes their life any less valuable than another’s and on what basis did this secret committee decided it was they that would be exiled? Jealousy, greed and power were the motivation for exiling these people. Mr. Oakhurst in particular was the character of interest. By gambling and good fortune, Mr. Oakhurst had won other town’s people's money. His acquired wealth was reason for jealousy and spite, especially by Jim Wheeler, a victim of Mr. Oakhurst's gambling talents."The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is used as a forum to explore themes of tolerance and forgiveness, appearance and reality, and the ominous power of