Essay, Research Paper: The Outcasts Of Poker Flat - John Oakhurst Analysis

John Oakhurst is the main character in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"�. John is an outstanding person and has some phenomenal traits. Such as that he is unusually calm, courageous, and modest.

John has shown numerous times in "The Outcasts of Poker Flat"�, that he is an extraordinarily calm person. One time in which Mr. Oakhurst showed extreme calmness is when the men come to take him away, and he just took what is coming. That to me shows extreme calmness. Another time when John Oakhurst shoes his trait of calmness is when he has to walk on foot back to Poker Flat to save Piney. John just said that he would try, and off he went. No worries or second thoughts about it. Those two things to me, show that John Oakhurst is a extremely calm person.

John, the gambler, is an extremely courageous person. He has proven this by a number of actions in this story. First of all he shows tons of courage by not getting scared when the travelers and him get snowed in. If it where me I probably would have run off like Uncle Billy did. Another example of when Mr. Oakhurst showed courage was when he kicked Uncle Billy to stop him from laughing. Most people would have just told him to stop laughing. But not Mr. Oakhurst, he just gave him a swift kick in the stomach. That to me shows the utmost courage in the world.

Another one of John's traits is that he is overwhelmingly modest. Mr. Oakhurst's modesty is proven numerous times in this short story by Brett Harte. One of those times is when John puts the death card on the tree, he doesn't boast about dying while trying to save a life. He simply states that he ran out of luck on a certain day. Another time in which John displayed modesty is when he never boasts of winning all that money during card games. He had a perfect opportunity too when he met The innocent on their adventures. Those are the two reasons that I think John Oakhurst is a modest person.

Overall, I think that John Oakhurst is a good person. I believe he is this because of the traits listed above. If I was alive in the old west, John is a person I would like to run in to.