The Outcasts at Poker Flat Bret Harte The Outcasts at Poker Flat

Bret Harte Was the Secretary of the United States Branch Mint in San Francisco In 1868 named editor of Overland Monthly. Wrote Outcasts at Poker Flat and Luck of Roaring Camp and became famous in 1871 signed with The Atlantic Monthly for $10,000 for 12 stories a year, the highest figure offered an American writer up to that time.

Bret Harte Harte left for the East, never to return After several years of indifferent success on the lecture circuit, Harte in 1878 accepted consulships in Crefeld, Germany., and later in Glasgow, Scotland. In 1885 he retired to London. He found in England a ready audience for his tales of a past or mythical California long after American readers tired of his formula

Mark Twain’s Opinion I detest him, because I think his work is 'shoddy.' His forte is pathos but there should be no pathos which does not come out of a man's heart. He has no heart, except his name, and I consider he has produced nothing that is genuine. He is artificial. - interview in Sydney Australia Argus, 9/17/1895

Harte, Realism and Local Color Like Twain, Harte’s writing centered on western U.S. and employed local color Local color or regional literature is fiction and poetry that focuses on the characters, dialect, customs, topography, and other features particular to a specific region.

Harte, Realism and Local Color Local color attempts to portray accurate dialect patterns, mannerisms, thoughts, and topography of a specific region. Often uses eccentrics as characters, possesses whimsical humor Local color began in 1880’s with short stories as its principal medium

Harte, Realism and Local Color

Harte, Realism and Local Color Regionalism, or local color fiction, was a perspective of literature that gained popularity in the United States after the Civil War. Local color writers depicted nearly every region of the United States, leading realism to their stories by describing customs and manners and re-creating dialects.

Harte, Realism and Local Color Because these authors set their stories in regions as they remembered them from their own youth, they often blended realism with nostalgic sentiment. According to the Oxford Companion to American Literature, "In local-color literature one finds the dual influence of romanticism and realism, since the author frequently looks away from ordinary life to distant lands, strange customs, or exotic scenes, but retains through minute detail a sense of fidelity and accuracy of description" (439)

Principles of Realism Insistence upon and defense of the commonplace Character more important than plot Attack upon romanticism and romantic writers Emphasis on morality often self-realized and upon examination of idealism Concept of realism as realization of democracy

Identifying Characteristics of Realistic Writing Non-transcendental—purpose of writing is to entertain and instruct Realists were pragmatic, relativistic, democratic and experimental The subject draws from “our experience,”—the common, the average, the non-extreme, the representative, the probable

Identifying Characteristics of Realistic Writing The morality is intrinsic and relative. Relationships between people and society are explored. The style is the vehicle which carries philosophy, subject matter and morality. De-emphasizes authorial comment Objection towards the omniscient point of view

American Realism

American Realism

American Realism

Realistic Elements The speech in the mining camps is reproduced accurately—”It’s agin justice to let this yer young man from Roaring Camp—an entire stranger—carry away our money.” The setting and descriptions of those settings are realistic: “…the party soon passed out of the moist, temperate regions of the foot hills, into the dry, cold bracing air of the Sierras.”

Allusions “The Outcast of Poker Flat” is full of allusions. Allusion- is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.

Theme and Naturalism Naturalism suggests that social conditions, heredity, and environment are inescapable forces that shape human character. In other words, Nature (the being that surrounds humanity in all facets) controls humans and is indifferent to their plight They are all people of lower class One of them steals from the others The weather conspires against them

Personification A literary term for the techniques of endowing animals or inanimate objects with human characteristics

Character Growth Characters who change through the course of a story are dynamic. Characters who remain the same are static. Who changes? What makes this person change? How does it affect others? Who remains the same?

Symbolism Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities Symbolism can take different forms. Generally, it is an object representing another, to give an entirely different meaning that is much deeper and more significant. Sometimes, however, an action, an event or a word spoken by someone may have a symbolic value. For instance, “smile” is a symbol of friendship. Similarly, the action of someone smiling at you may stand as a symbol of the feeling of affection which that person has for you. What symbolism occurs at the end of the story? What might it mean? What does the scene of John Oakhurst’s death symbolize?

Archetype An archetype is an imaginative pattern repeated through the ages. Harte is credited with inventing the Western archetypal hero—self-reliant, solitary, and fearless. The original Westerners were only human, yet why do most people prefer legend over reality?

Archetype