Themes: Appearances and Reality

At the beginning of the story, the four outcasts are labeled as "improper persons." Their initial behavior, with the exception of Oakhurst, shows them as crude, lazy, and frequently drunk. However, Tom and Piney, who come from a different settlement, are unaware of these outcasts' reputations and are not swayed by Poker Flat's prejudices. Tom had a brief encounter with Oakhurst before and found him to be kind and gentlemanly, so he treats him as...

Themes: Change and Transformation

The themes of appearance versus reality are intricately linked with the concepts of change and transformation. While confined, the outcasts, especially the two prostitutes, undergo a profound change. At first, the women seem self-absorbed, dismissive of Tom and Piney, and contemptuous of their innocence. However, as the group becomes closer, these attitudes shift to maternal affection, especially toward Piney. It appears that the genuine nature...

Themes: Fate and Chance

Chance significantly influences the misfortune of the marooned travelers. Many incidents in the narrative depend on unpredictable events. For example, if the outcasts had not paused for the night or had commenced their journey a day earlier, they might have bypassed the snowstorm and reached Sandy Bar. Likewise, if Tom and Piney had continued their trip instead of staying with the outcasts, they might have avoided the storm. On the other hand,...

Themes: Heroism

For many readers, a key theme of the story is that society frequently overlooks its genuine heroes and heroines. This idea is clearly illustrated by Mother Shipton's sacrifice and Duchess's selfless commitment. Although both women are condemned by society, they demonstrate a moral superiority over their critics. Oakhurst's suicide also offers insight into the concept of heroism. Throughout the narrative, he seems to be the group's leader and the...

Themes: Communal Hypocrisy

The pretentiousness of the Poker Flat community is contrasted with the essential goodness of the exiles. The hanging of two men and the banishment of four people are tactics associated with vigilantes of the Old West. In their attempt to establish their own brand of law and order, the people of the town are hypocritical. The gambler and the prostitutes serve as scapegoats for the collective guilt of a community that is trying to look respectable...

Themes: Heroism of Oakhurst

Oakhurst is a heroic protagonist whose inclusion among the exiles is a matter of revenge rather than justice. Some members of the committee had urged hanging him as a means of getting back the money that they had lost to him, but they were overruled by those who had managed to win. He is merely banished, then, but Oakhurst takes the punishment philosophically. His profession has prepared him to accept bad luck. Oakhurst emerges as the leader of...

Themes: Nobility of the Outcasts

The prostitutes also work at an unrespected trade, but, like the gambler, they possess noble qualities. The love they show for the young Piney Woods puts them morally above the people who have banished them. They are victims of a town that has temporarily decided to enforce a narrow view of virtue. Like Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter(1850), they grow in a moral sense, in contrast to their tormentors. The prostitutes...

Themes: Society's Tyranny

Bret Harte, in this story, is thematically in the mainstream of American literature. His most famous predecessors and contemporaries dealt with the archetypal theme of society forcing its value system on all its members. The tyranny of the community in punishing those who fail to conform to its narrow standards is illustrated in the works of contemporaries such as Mark Twain, Henry James, and William Dean Howells. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman...