Stereotyped Characters in The Outcasts of Poker Flat
Francis Brett Harte was born in the East, but moved west and changed his life to become a writer. Harte's works were said to, ". . . express the matter [humor] briefly but more or less essentially, the power of laughing not only at things, but also with them." (Chesterson 339). He prospered as a writer with his work "The Outcasts of Poker Flat." "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" is one of, if not the, defining short stories for the Western genre. It takes stereotypical characters and places them in a typical western situation. This is a form of local color. Local color is the use of dialect, scenery, and stereotyped characters in a story. Harte primarily uses stereotypical characters as a form of local color in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" by is portrayal of the naive innocents, the golden hearted prostitutes, and the reserved gambler. Tom Simson and Piney Woods are prime examples of stereotypical innocents by their naivety, their ingenuousness, and even their sleeping habits. They are the newly wed couple of the story. One way of telling their innocence is by their how
Dedria Bryfonski and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson. Later she blushes so that it is seen through all of her make up. As one can see Brett Harte effectively uses stereotyped characters as a form of local color in the short story, "The Outcasts of Poker Flat", by using innocence, promiscuity, and subduedness of his roles. He also, does not realize that he is sending his virgin wife to sleep next to women less pure. In sleep their truth comes out, once again they are angels guarding the Innocents.
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Acceptance Essays
