Outcasts of Poker Flat Group

Topic: Harte has been accused of excessive sentimentality in his writings. He's sentimental? Excessively? Give specific examples from this story.

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peluza74

Harte who has been called the “Father of all local color Western stories, “has been accused of excessive sentimentality in his writings. Is “The Outcasts of Poker Flats” sentimental? Excessively so? Give specific examples to support your argument

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Well, for something to be judged excessive, you need to provide a sense of the standard you're using to make such a judgment. Something similar is true regarding sentimentality.

 

As far as an example, consider the end of the story: " And pulseless and cold, with a Derringer by his side and a bullet in his heart, though still calm as in life, beneath the snow lay he who was at once the strongest and yet the weakest of the outcasts of Poker Flat."
That description is pretty sentimental. It jerks the reader in a number of directions, piling adjective on adjective and image on image, and quite literally takes you to extremes: he is the strongest and the weakest at once. So, sentimental, yes. Extreme, yes. Excessive? I don't think so. I enjoy excess.

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