The Outcasts of Poker Flat

Throughout “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” the characters of Oakhurst, Mother Shipton, and the Duchess vacillate in their strengths and their weaknesses, and these many contrasting, evolving character traits highlight the complexity of humanity.

Oakhurst’s equanimity emphasizes his strength as a gambling man. When the outcasts are dumped outside the town’s limits, Oakhurst is unreactive while the others express grievances: “Mother Shipton’s desire to cut somebody’s heart out, to the repeated statements of the Duchess that she would die in the road, and to the alarming oaths that seemed to be bumped out of Uncle Billy as he rode forward” (Paragraph 7). While other outcasts show a certain strength in their open disdain for the committee’s hypocritical tyranny, Oakhurst demonstrates his strength in his emotional restraint. After Oakhurst initially pleads with the others to continue their travels to Sandy Bar, he “alone remained erect, leaning against a rock, calmly surveying them” (Paragraph 9). As the others drink to forget their troubles, Oakhurst alone abstains and stands guard over the group—and, when Tom and Oakhurst keep watch the second night after Uncle Billy steals the mules, Oakhurst ends up keeping most of the watch as he explains he had “often been a week without sleep” (Paragraph 25).