Uncle Billy’s theft is significant not just because it confirms his status as a thief, but also because it goes beyond his reputation as a suspected petty thief—in stealing the group’s mules,
he has stranded his companions and effectively sentenced them to death
.
What crime did Mother Shipton commit?
“Mother Shipton”: originally, a 16th-century English woman who was accused
of being a witch
.
What plot development occurs because Uncle Billy steals the mules?
Demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight. What important plot development is brought on by Uncle Billy’s stealing of the mules?
It strands the rest of the travelers.
What effect has the arrival of Tom and Piney had on the outcasts?
Tom and Piney
make them feel respectable
which is something they haven’t felt for a long time, if ever. This endears Tom and Piney to Mother Shipton and to the Duchess. John Oakhurst is touched by the pair of elopers because he sees their youth and their innocence.
What happens to the travelers at the camp?
The short answer to your question is that
most of them die
. Uncle Billy runs off with the mules and supplies the first night, and Tom Simson walks back to Poker Flat for help on a pair of improvised snow shoes. Everyone else either starves to death or (in the case of Oakhurst) commits suicide.
What happened Uncle Billy?
By morning, Uncle Billy is gone and the mules are nowhere to be found.
The story never reveals what happened to Uncle Billy
—whether he made it to the next town over or died in the pursuit—but he is nonetheless spared the long, agonizing death that the rest of the outcasts (plus Tom and Piney) are forced to endure.
Why does Mr Oakhurst and Tom leave the camp?
John Oakhurst, the Duchess, and Mother Shipton sympathize with Tom “The Innocent” and his young wife, Piney, and do not want to frighten them. The
outcasts fear that revealing their identities and crimes will cause
the newlyweds to panic and attempt to leave the camp immediately.
Why does Oakhurst commit suicide?
John Oakhurst is found that
way underneath a playing card attached to a tree
. Presumably, John Oakhurst wrote his own epitaph on the playing card and shot himself in order to more quickly end his life. In his mind, the alternative was either freeze to death or starve to death.
Did Mother Shipton have a child?
And there, one stormy night in 1488, with thunder banging, lightening crashing and gales blowing, she
gave birth to Ursula
. Shortly after her birth, the Abbot of Beverley took an interest in Ursula; he placed her with a local family.
What did Mother Shipton predict?
Mother Shipton is England’s most famous Prophetess. She foretold the fates of several rulers within and just after her lifetime, as well as the invention of
iron ships
, the Great Fire of London in 1666, and the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
Who were the outcasts escorted out of town?
In 1850, he and three others are banished from the town. The others are
Uncle Billy, a thief, and the Duchess and Mother Shipton
, two prostitutes. The group later meets two newlyweds, who help them take shelter in a storm.
Why are the outcasts thrown out of Poker Flat?
The outcasts are thrown out of the town of Poker Flat
because they are the undesirables of the town
. Duchess, despite what her name implies, is not high class royalty in any way. She is the town prostitute; therefore, she is deemed a seedy character that should be expelled from the town.
What is the most important effect that Tom and Piney have on the outcasts?
What is the most important effect that Tom Simson and Piney Woods have on the outcasts?
They bring out the best of each outcasts. cares for Piney and wants to help her.
Who is the most admirable character in The Outcasts of Poker Flat?
While all of the characters of Bret Harte’s “Outcasts of Poker Flat” easily engage the reader’s sympathy, with the exception of the treacherous Uncle Billy, it’s difficult not to feel that the heroic self-sacrifice of
Mother Shipton
makes her the most admirable of the group.
Why is Oakhurst the weakest and the strongest of the outcasts?
In what sense is the “the strongest and yet the weakest of the outcasts of Poker Flat”? Oakhurst- he is strong and generous and cares for others.
He is weak in his moral code
. … Professional gambler who is forced out of the town of Poker Flat as an undesirable because he wins so much money from the townspeople.
What can the reader assume will happen to the outcasts if they return to Poker Flat A the outcasts will be killed b the outcasts will be put on trial c the outcasts will be turned away again d the outcasts will be welcomed back into town?
The correct answer is A)
The outcasts will be killed
. The story is located in Poker Flat, a small Californian community. Some people in Poker Flat feel that the community is going down the hill.
