Upon waking from their overnight camp in the mountains, four exiles from Poker Flat and a young couple traveling to the town face a snowstorm with limited provisions.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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Short story by Bret Harte, first published in the magazine Overland Monthly in 1869, later published in the collection The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Sketches (1870); it has become a minor classic of American literature. One of the best examples of Harte's local-color fiction, this story about exiles from an 1850 California mining camp who are caught in a blizzard shows how even the "immoral" members of society are capable of acting unselfishly to help others who are in danger. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Outcasts" a truly great story.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Outcasts of Poker Flat (Pamphlet)
I had never even heard of Bret Harte before I read this story, and I really enjoyed it. I loved the way that he used language and imagery to vividly portray the people of Poker Flat. The way that John Oakhurst's (the gambler) thoughts are described, as everything relating to a game of cards, was interesting. It really made me feel like I could see all these people- they seem like very real, everyday characters that could be encountered in anyone's life. Harte obviously knows people, and knows how to tell a good story. I would love to read other stories that he's written.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tragic,
This review is from: Outcasts of Poker Flat (Complete and Unabridged Classics) (Paperback)
The power of the story is in its contrasts. All of the characters contrast against each other in strange ways.The story is very unique and very sad. It's a great story though. A real classic I think. Very Strong. 5 Stars.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A GREAT AMERICAN CLASSIC,
This review is from: Outcasts of Poker Flat (Complete and Unabridged Classics) (Paperback)
The cover blurb describes Bret Harte as "the creator of the Western story." This may be true, but it is praise that undersells the quality of Harte's writing. While these stories contain many of the clichés to be found in typical Westerns - stage coach robberies, hangings, and slick, handsome gamblers - these are not escapist stories, but admirable studies of men and women subjected to frontier isolation and harsh conditions. They are easily comparable to the stories of Jack London, and a few of them even to John Steinbeck. If his other books are equal in quality to this selection, Harte certainly deserves to be more widely read. I remember that "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" was included in one of my high school literature anthologies, but I think that it was one that we did not read, probably because there is a prostitute in it. A common theme of many of these stories is how deeply these frontiersmen respond to innocence, whether in the form of young love or a newborn child. These are stories that will stay with you for a long time.
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