The Luck of Roaring Camp

Ramon “wanted to produce a magazine that had the flavor of the west but would appeal to a national audience” (Baker). Harte met his expectations and the first issue of Overland Monthly won praise and gained many subscriptions across the nation. The next issue featured Harte’s “The Luck of Roaring Camp” which made the magazine get more interest. “The Luck of Roaring Camp” is set in the 1850s and is about a boy, Tom Luck. Beside the boy’s name luck played a role in many of Harte’s stories. Within a year, Overland Monthly had sold as many copies in the East as it did in California, Nevada, and…

This short story shows a sharp contrast to the masculine identity of this time because of how the 100 men of the camp suddenly bring out there emotional side as soon as the “Luck” of the camp is born. In this camp, the typical masculine ideal is to be someone that is rough, dirty, and strong. Once the camp finally has a newcomer, the baby, Luck, these men suddenly turn into the most caring group of 100 men around in order to take care of their newborn baby. A very possible reason that all 100…

Men often feel strength in themselves when they evaluate their economic standing compared to other men. Where a man stands in the economic hierarchy of society reveals a lot about what kind of man they are. Men strive to be as high as they can in economical standing. This was especially true during the Victorian era because one’s wealth told people how “manly” they were. The stereotypical male, showcased in literature, was one who could work and make enough money to support an entire family. If…

The story “The Luck of Roaring Camp” by Bret (Francis) Harte has many common ideas with another story known as “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel García Márquez. These stories are full of heartbreak, relationships and emotion. Most importantly, both stories surround the big idea of Change. These stories, both represent change and how it affects their lives. In “The Luck of Roaring Camp”, change brings happiness into people’s lives and develops them into well rounded characters.…

The False Bravado of Men Bret Harte’s 1868 story “The Luck of Roaring Camp” illustrates how those who may act tough, still care on the inside. Harte’s story is depicting the lives of those who moved to mining camps in California during the Gold Rush. The majority of those who moved to the mining camps were men of rough character, occasionally there was a woman. The bravado of these men is what made the camps seem like a harsh place to be. The men all acted like they were tough and they wanted to…

other and was heading to Poker Flat and needed somewhere to camp. They came across Mr. Oakhurst and the rest of the exiles. So they camped and then traveled farther into the…

“The Luck of Roaring Camp,” manages to be tragic without tipping into melodrama, and rustic without tripping over its local color. It is also a balancing act between the potentially new plot of a newborn baby boys effect within an all-male wild mining community, and Harte’s method of seeing “Hidden Humanity Among the Sordid.” His style and sympathies allow us to keep our distance but shed a tear at the end of the story. The Roaring Camp is set between California’s Sierra Hills and a large…

Brian McCalla Mr. Tahany College Writing 25 October 2015 “The Luck of Roaring Camp” by Bret Harte is a short story that takes place during the gold rush in the mid 1800s in Roaring Camp, California. Cherokee Sal, a prostitute, dies shortly after giving birth to an infant boy leaving him without anyone to take care of him. The men in the camp, wanting the best for the child, join together to make the failing town into a suitable place for him. This story has the literary elements of life,…

The style of the popular novel has changed with every new decade, but one theme has consistently lingered in the history of literature: facing the unknown. Life is entirely an unknown, which was something all too familiar to Bret Harte and Stephen Crane. These two authors are known for works in which the main character or characters must push through a point of true adversity, be it mental or physical. The resolution to a theme such as facing the unknown has always been simple in word alone;…

In this beginning of this story, we know some background of this story. In the roaring camp, all people living here are poor and also rude, and they fight with each other all day. It shows that roaring camp is a bad place to live. As we know, because of the gold rush fever, many people came to California. They are also poor, and that is why they came here in order to get rich. These people did not have well education, and the only thing they have is that brave which is to go on getting more…