The Luck of Roaring Camp
"The Luck of Roaring Camp" is a short story by American author Bret Harte. It was first published in the August 1868 issue of the Overland Monthly and helped push Harte to international prominence.[1]
The story is about the birth of a baby boy in a 19th century gold prospecting camp. The boy's mother, Cherokee Sal, dies in childbirth, so the men of Roaring Camp must raise it themselves. Believing the child to be a good luck charm, the miners christen the boy Thomas Luck. Afterwards, they decide to refine their behavior and refrain from gambling and fighting. At the end of the story, however, Luck and a villager, Kentuck, perish in a flash flood that strikes the camp. The flood theme may have come from the Great Flood of California, witnessed by Harte in 1862, which resulted from weeks of torrential rains throughout the entire state, combined with warming temperatures in mid January that melted the snowpack. In addition to the melt-waters, according to the Sacramento Union newspapers of the day, six to ten feet of rain fell in some mining areas near Grass Valley.
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[edit] Plot summary
Bret Harte’s The Luck of Roaring Camp is a short story of a small struggling mining town located in the foothills of the California mountains at the time of the gold rush. The camp is suffering from a long string of bad luck. With only one woman in their midst, it seems as though the miners have no future. However, the tide turns when a small boy is born. “Thomas Luck” is the first newborn the camp has seen in ages; things are looking up. The miners become cheerful, foliage begins to grow, there's talk of building a hotel to attract outsiders. Unfortunately, the hope is wiped out by the sudden death of Luck in a flood. Water brought gold to the gulches, giving miners their first glimmer of hope. And water takes away what seems their last glimmer--Luck.
[edit] Important Quotes
- “The strongest man has but three fingers on his right hand; the best shot had but one eye”[2]
- “Red Dog has twice been under water, and Roaring Camp had been forewarned”.[3]
- “Higher up the gulch they found the body of its unlucky owner; but the pride, the hope, the joy, The Luck, of Roaring Camp had disappeared”.[4]
- “Gamblers and adventures are generally superstitious, and Oakhurst one day declared that the baby had brought ‘the Luck’ to Roaring Camp”.[5]
[edit] Characters
- Thomas Luck
- newborn child thought to be the savior of the camp
- Kentuck
- a rugged prospector who tries to save Thomas Luck's life in the flood
- Cherokee Sal
- mother of Thomas Luck; only woman on camp
- Stumpy
- Guardian of Thomas Luck
[edit] Adaptations
The spaghetti western Four of the Apocalypse is based in part on Harte's story.
The Thomas Edison Motion Picture Company, in the Bronx, New York, turned the story into a silent film by the same name in 1909. The film was directed by character actor Frank McGlynn, Sr. and featured his son Thomas as Tommy Luck.
[edit] References
- ^ "The Printed Word.". Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954) (Perth, WA: National Library of Australia): p. 13. 12 March 1911. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57710502. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- ^ Harte, Bret. "The Luck of Roaring Camp" Great American Short Stories, Dover Publications 2002 pg 50
- ^ Harte, Bret. "The Luck of Roaring Camp" Great American Short Stories, Dover Publications 2002 pg 57
- ^ Harte, Bret. "The Luck of Roaring Camp" Great American Short Stories, Dover Publications 2002 pg 57
- ^ Harte, Bret. "The Luck of Roaring Camp" Great American Short Stories, Dover Publications 2002 pg 53
[edit] External links
- The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales at Project Gutenberg.
- Bret Harte at the Literary Encyclopedia
- Teacher's notes from Penguin Books
- Narrated Storyline at www.manythings.org
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