The Outcasts of Poker Flats

The Outcasts of Poker Flats

In the short story, ¨The Outcasts of Poker Flats,” by Bret Harte, one theme that you can take away from the story is that no matter how bad people may seem, everyone has some good in them. Some examples of this include Mother Shipton, the Duchess, and John Oakhurst. The purpose of my essay is to show how it may be true that bad people possess good qualities.

Mother Shipton is my first example as to how bad people can have good to them. For example, she was kicked out of town for being a prostitute, implying that selling her body made the town believe she was evil. However, she was very helpful in taking care of Piney. She ¨shielded” Piney from the real world and real world problems. Also, Mother Shipton died of starvation. She refused to eat because she saved all of her food for Piney.

The Duchess is another example of a ¨bad¨ person with good characteristics. She was kicked out of Poker Flats for the same reason as Mother Shipton. Despite the negative outlook the people in town had on the Duchess, she assisted in caring for Piney and tried to comfort her before their mutual passing. Furthermore, the Duchess kept Piney alive after Mother Shipton died, and watched over her when Tom and John Oakhurst sought help.