The Outcasts Of Poker Flat 'And Under The Lion's Paw'

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Recommended: Essays on British and American writers using nature

1. In all three of our readings, the Western landscape has been described as a dangerous obstacle to overcome: in Bret Harte’s “The Outcasts of Poker Flat” and Hamlin Garland’s “Under the Lion’s Paw,” the land threatens the character’s lives, while in Zane Grey’s “The Ranger,” Vaughn must seriously consider the terrain and his horse’s abilities as he first tries to catch up to Quinela’s people and later works to escape them. Clearly, nature was a hostile force for Western people. This constant hostility would contribute to the determination, independence, and strength associated with the Western character.
2. The Haskins from “Under the Lion’s Paw” have the most clear motivation to travel to the West when they’re previous farm was destroyed …show more content…

The West’s influence on morality is highly varied throughout our texts. For some, the West has inspired virtue; for others, the West has inspired corruption. As for religion, the faith we see in these texts seem to often be connected to luck and morals. In “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” the outcasts (besides Uncle Billy) are clearly virtuous figures—Mother Shipton standing out for her selflessness in her sacrifice of her own food. Though we don’t know much of Mother Shipton before they are kicked out, it’s possible that her circumstances as an outcast spurred on that selflessness; outside of the confines of society and stuck in the danger of the western land, she has nothing left to lose. Meanwhile, the citizens of Poker Flat are turned toward corruption disguised as virtue as Harte describes, “It was experiencing a spasm of virtuous reaction, quite as lawless and ungovernable as any of the acts that had provoked it” (34). Here, the frontier justice of the West becomes an excuse to punish everyone that does not fit into ideal society.
In “The Ranger,” Vaughn is clearly positioned as a figure of bravery, intelligence, and virtue, partially due to his job as a ranger. Unlike Mother Shipton, his standing in society contributes to his virtue. He is also one of the characters that describes luck as his religion as Grey explains, “his luck had begun to take over. He divined it, trusted it with mounting hope” (167). The luck he believes in seems to strengthen his belief in good vs. evil: he has luck on his side because he is in the “right,” encouraging him to act

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