In the story, “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte, we see various character traits. Although these characters were created between the years of 1892 and 1899, we can see similarities between them and people in today’s society. A person’s traits are formed through time, impacted by the people in their life. The way one reacts in dire situations, how they treat others, or how they treat themselves can be traced back to their guardians, mentors, or significant others. The guardianship Mother Shipton and the Duchess have over Piney shows a loving, mother-like care a guardian should have. The mentorship John Oakhurst and Tom Simpson had shows healthy relationship, where Mr. Oakhurst’s only purpose was to help Tom. The significant relationships between characters vary; Tom and Piney, Mother Shipton and the Duchess’s previous ‘relationships’, and John Oakhurst and the Duchess. With each type of relationship, there are those healthy and unhealthy. …show more content…
When a child is born, they are placed with a guardian, whether that be their parents or not, and whether they be loving or not. In the story, we can see that Mother Shipton and the Duchess act as guardians over Piney. The first clue to this is in paragraph 19, “Piney slept beside her frailer sisters as sweetly as though attended by celestial guardians.” However, it says ‘as though attended’, which implies that it seems to be the case, this foreshadows the guardianship the two have over Piney later in the story. Moreover, in paragraph 24 we read that the Duchess and Mother Shipton dub Piney as “the child”. “..to the task of amusing “the child,” as she and the Duchess were pleased to call Piney.” From these points, we see the guardianship was fancied by all three of