the outcasts of poker flat short summary

Uncle Billy is also far from accepting of the group’s fate and, like Mother Shipton, delivers “a Parthian volley of expletives.” In first-century Asia, the Parthians would routinely pretend to flee before suddenly turning back to shoot their enemies, which is effectively what Uncle Billy does when he goes on to steal the group’s mules, leaving his companions to die. He never challenges the committee for banishing him just because townspeople lost money to him at gambling, and never even complains later to the rest of the group. Meanwhile, “the philosophic Oakhurst alone remained silent,” even though he arguably has more reason than any of the group to complain.

She curses the townspeople and curses Fate. Like the Duchess, Mother Shipton doesn’t take the news of their exile lightly. He even gives up his superior riding horse to the Duchess, and takes her broken-down mule. The Duchess wilts after the group is exiled from Poker Flat, but John Oakhurst stays strong. He faces hardship and death without complaining or backing down from the hard truth of their situation, making him seem admirable, and even heroic. John Oakhurst is not like the rest of the outcasts. Ultimately, the story resists easy answers: while Harte clearly admires some of Oakhurst’s traits, he also finds weakness in the gambler’s passive world view. Following Oakhurst from the moment of his sentence to his suicide in the mountains, the story asks whether it is noble to calmly accept one’s fate without protest, or whether this is foolish. However, stoicism was also linked in Harte’s time not just to acting calm but to accepting one’s fate, which seems to be exactly what Oakhurst does. Initially, this seems admirable-when he receives the sentence of banishment from his town, Oakhurst reacts “with philosophic calmness,” making him appear strong and unflappable. He perfectly embodies the word, which means someone who accepts hardship without complaining or showing emotion. Like a template for countless strong, silent Western heroes in old movies, protagonist John Oakhurst is a stoic.

The outcasts of poker flat short summary