Monday, November 12, 2012

The Luck of Roaring Camp- Bret Harte




The Luck of Roaring Camp
By: Bret Harte

            I found “The Luck of Roaring Camp” to be an incredibly depressing story. I was not expecting that ending in the slightest. The story takes place in the 1850s and it starts out talking about this camp that is run down and dirty and full of men except for one woman- Cherokee Sal. There is a commotion at the camp because Cherokee Sal is in labor. The men had never heard or seen anything like it; they all anxiously waited outside of her cabin. Cherokee Sal suffered and passed away while laboring a baby boy. “..a sharp, querulous cry, - a cry unlike anything heard before in the camp. The pines stopped moaning, the river ceased to rush, and the fire to crackle. It seems as if Nature had stopped to listen too” (1486). I found this quote to be both foreshadowing a symbolic. Nature stopped and there seemed to be a moment of silence as Cherokee Sal left the world and her baby boy entered the world. The loss of her life lead to new life through the birth of her son and change for her son and the camp. Her son grows to love and be one with nature, which is, why this quote is a bit foreshadowing.
            The story goes on as the men offer little trinkets and presents to the baby.
 They buried Cherokee Sal on the hillside and her life was celebrated and then there was turmoil over who is going to adopt the orphan and raise him as their own. Stumpy stepped up to the plate and volunteered to take the boy in. Though Stumpy became his parent, the whole camp helped out. The saying does go that it takes a village to raise a baby, and that is exactly what the roaring camp did. I really thought that Kentuck was going to take on raising the boy since he was so affected by the baby grabbing his finger when he first met him; Kentuck looked at his finger for a long time and seemed perplexed that the baby had chosen him and chosen to grab his finger; it is later evident that this is foreshadowing.
            The baby brought about positive changes in the camp. The camp agreed on naming the boy Thomas Luck or Tommy Luck, and he really did become “The Luck” of the camp. Stumpy installed a new and stricter policy on personal cleanliness. “Again Stumpy imposed a kind of quarantine upon those who aspired to the honor and privilege of holding The Luck” (1489). Stumpy wanted to protect Tommy Luck from everything and everyone. Stumpy also changed the noise level near Tommy, there was to be no shouting or yelling within hearing distance of the baby. The baby was one with nature, “Surrounded by playthings such as never child out of fairyland had before, it is to be hoped that Tommy was content” (1490). It was thought that the boy was thriving and happy.
            The North Fork leapt over the bank and took the roaring camp with it. Stumpy’s home was gone and so was everyone who lived in it. A rescue boat later found an older man and a baby; it was Kentuck and Tommy Luck. The baby that Kentuck held was dead and Kentuck was told by the others that he too was dying- “’he’s a-taking me with him. Tell the boys I’ve got The Luck with me now’”; (1491). Once again Tommy Luck, “The Luck” of the village chose Kentuck to die along side him the same way that he seemed to choose Kentuck as a caregiver though Stumpy took on the role permanently.
            I liked how the baby represented the luck of the camp and the luck of all the men in the camp. With the baby came great change in the camp and it brought all of the men together for better or for worse.

Discussion Questions:

·      Did you find the story to be depressing?
·      Did you catch on to all of the foreshadowing?
·      What do you think Cherokee Sal was doing at this men’s camp anyway?

No comments:

Post a Comment