”The Outcasts of Poker Flat” by Bret Harte

The story fictional story, The Outcasts of Poker Flat, written by Bret Harte is a filled with abundant examples of naturalism, realism, and regionalism. Examples of naturalism, realism, and regionalism are shown many times throughout the story and is important for the development of characters, settings, and plots. The short story, being very naturalistic, has multiple examples of naturalism. “Toward the morning he awoke benumbed and cold. As he stirred the dying fire, the wind, which was now blowing strongly, brought to his cheek that which caused the blood to leave it,- snow” (Harte 17). Nature, being the controller or ruler of most things in life, caused the dying fire, increasing wind, and coming snow. Nature is a force that can not be defeated of trifled with and will always do what it wants, even if it has limited of no benefit to mankind. Realism, being the accurate portraying and exploring in the common course of American life, often plays a big role in the short story, The Outcasts of Poker Flat. “He then handed him his money back, pushed him gently from the room, and so made a devoted slave of Tom Simson” (Harte 11). Although someone giving back money they won it quite far fetched, the fact that Mr. Oakhurst made him a “slave” makes this point of realism quite an important one.

Like most people when dealing with a situation to where virtues and personal morality is expressed there usually is a catch and with this particular example the catch was for Tom Simson, the Innocent, to become a “slave” for Mr. Oakhurst. Regionalism also plays a big role in this fictional short story. Regionalism is when the author, in this case Bret Harte, emphasises characters, customs, dialects, and features of a specific region which in. “ In that advanced season, the party soon passed out of the moist, temperate regions of the foot-hills into the dry, cold, bracing air of the Sierras” (Harte 8). Regionalism, being the emphasis of features in a specific region, it often expressed in The Outcasts of Poker Flat and gives more detail to the setting making it seem as if the reader is there with the outcasts living every moment of their travel to Sandy Bar. Naturalism, realism, and regionalism are often used in many forms of literature and is important for the development of characters, settings and plots in many stories including the short story The Outcasts of Poker Flat.