Oakhurst' Opposite in Bret Harte's The Outcasts of Poker Flat - Essay Example

Oakhurst opposite The character in “Poker Flat” that is most nearly Oakhurst opposite is Uncle Billy. Amongst all the characters in the story, he was the only person who shared the least character traits with Oakhurst, to the extent that he did not suffer with others until their demises. To establish that Uncle Billy was the most nearly Oakhurst opposite, the analysis shall take the form of assessing the character traits of all the characters in the story, to eventually come up with the character traits of each individual, an aspect that will help to reach at the conclusion already stated above. Tom Simson, also known as ‘The Innocent’, is one of the characters in this story, who is pretty much appearing to be always happy. Additionally, Tom seems to always keep a positive mind, and he is always loving and caring towards others, to the extent that he brought forth the supplies that he had brought for himself and his girlfriend Piney Woods, so that they could share the same with the other outcasts from Poker Flat (Harte, 38). He shared his stock with the outcasts until it was finished, and until that point, he did not stop taking responsibility by attempting to go to Poker Flat and see how he could save her girlfriend from the eminent danger of death as a result of hunger, once the supplies they had were finished. His caring attitude is the same that can be seen from the character of Oakhurst, who was caring towards all the other outcasts, and despite his having an option of running away and leaving them out in the dry and cold hills when all of them got drunk, Oakhurst opted to stay and support them. Mr. Oakhurst did not drink, and when all of his companions were drunk and asleep, he remained standing leaning on a rock just surveying them. When the thought of running away from them came to his mind, he immediately discarded it and decided to say (Harte, 36). Additionally, his acts of care and kindness can be observed from the fact that; when Tom had come to gamble at Poker Flat, Oakhurst had won all the money that Tom had, but he gave it back to him secretly, and advised him never to gamble again (Harte, 36). Thus, the two are characterized by being kind and caring towards others, and therefore Tom Simson is not so much opposite from Oakhurst. Piney Woods is yet another character in the story, who is calm, friendly and naïve, having run away from her father, so that she could get married to Tom Simson (Harte, 36). Despite there not being much known about Piney, there is an indication that she was a happy and calm girl in her fifteens, who was just happy and thrilled by the thought and reality of being married to Simson, despite the challenges they had to face, including running away from home, so they could get married elsewhere. The fact that she kept it calm throughout her encounters in the story serves to mean that she is also similar to Oakhurst, who always kept it cool and calmly (Harte, 37). Mother Shipton, another character in the story also shares some traits with Oakhurst, thus eliminating her from the potential list of being the most nearly Oakhurst opposite. Despite the fact that she used to drink alcohol when Mr. Oakhurst did not and despite the fact that she was talkative while Mr. Oakhurst was mostly calm and cool, both Mother Shipton and Mr. Oakhurst share two major characteristics. First, Mr. Oakhurst and Mother Shipton always pretended, or at least behaved as if they were the strongest members of the outcast group, but they eventually gave up in the course of the hardships they were facing and allowed death to take them to rest. In this sense, they share the characteristic of being the two members of the group who gave up on life, when things became unbearable. Secondly, Mother Shipton is similar to Mr. Oakhurst in character, considering that she was caring and loving towards Piney Woods whom she considered a child, and thus she sacrificed herself and starved to death, so she could save her meals for Piney to continue surviving (Harte, 41). Thus, the fact that both Mother Shipton and Mr. Oakhurst share those two traits, automatically disqualifies her from being considered as the one most nearly Oakhurst opposite. Duchess, another character in the story is also different from Mr. Oakhurst, but also shares some traits that make both of the characters behaviorally similar. The difference between Duchess and Mr. Oakhurst emanates from the fact that; she was talkative, such that when they were declared outcasts and exiled from Poker Flat, she was all over commenting and complaining about it, but Mr. Oakhurst as usual, was cool and calm and made no comments, only keeping silent (Harte, 35). Additionally, Duchess used to take alcohol, get drunk and she was a heavy sleeper, which was not the case with Mr. Oakhurst who slept lightly and did not take alcohol. However, their similarity emanates from the fact that, Duchess was caring and loving towards others, and she stuck with Piney and took care of her, until the last moment. Being the only one who was left with her, she slept that day, the next and even when rescuers came for them, they did not wake up (Harte, 42). Thus, the fact that Duchess was caring and loving makes her share a character with Mr. Oakhurst, thus disqualifies her from being considered as the one most nearly Oakhurst opposite. Another character mentioned in the story is Jim Wheeler, who, is only mentioned once in relation with the plot he was making to steal from Mr. Oakhurst the money he had won through gambling, but his friends stopped him (34). Therefore, the fact that much is not told about Jim Wheeler is what disqualifies him from being considered the most opposite of Mr. Oakhurst, since he differed with him in the sense that he was cruel, while Mr. Oakhurst was kind and loving towards others. The single character mentioned, makes him fall short of the requirement to match Mr. Oakhurst opposite. Finally, the analysis of Uncle Billy portrays him as the most nearly opposite of Mr. Oakhurst, in terms of character traits. In fact, Uncle Billy does not share any character with Mr. Oakhurst, considering that he was talkative and sentimental, and therefore was quick to whine over the fact that they were exiled from Poker Flat, while Mr. Oakhurst just kept it cool and silent (Harte, 35). Secondly, as opposed to Mr. Oakhurst, Uncle Billy used to take alcohol and sleep much, such that when they decided to take alcohol together with Duchess and Mother Shipton, it was only Mr. Oakhurst who was left awake and sober, just leaning against a rock and surveying their behavior (Harte, 37). The other character trait that further differentiates Uncle Billy from Mr. Oakhurst is that; Uncle Billy was cruel and a rascal who could steal Tom Simson’s mule and run away from the others, leaving them to suffer the lack of means of transport, which eventually caused their death (Harte, 40). On the other hand, Mr. Oakhurst was caring and loving towards others, and even when he had a chance to run away from his companions when they got drunk, he just opted to stick with them as the only sober person. Therefore, the fact that Uncle Billy’s character trait are all directly opposite from those of , Mr. Oakhurst, considering that he was talkative, cruel and uncaring as well as a drunkard, three things that , Mr. Oakhurst was not, serves to qualify him as the most nearly Oakhurst opposite. References Harte, Bret. “The Outcasts of Poker Flat”, 1869. 34-42. Print. Read More