The Luck of Roaring Camp

In The Luck of Roaring Camp by Bret Harte we see a completely different role of a child, like we discussed a little in class. I found this idea particularly interesting. In most of the stories we have read this semester the man or father figure is absent in the child’s life because his career is most important while the woman is the caretaker. The men of Roaring Camp definitely fit the stereotype of the American Boy. The men are independent, hard working, and “allowed imperfections”. “The term “roughs” applied to them was a distinction rather than a definition. Perhaps in the minor details of fingers, toes, ears, etc., the camp may have been deficient, but these slight omissions did not detract from their aggregate force” (Harte 526). I believe the absence of women in this camp enhanced the characteristics of a “typical man” who liked to gamble and did not care about hygiene.

When “Luck” is born the men are forced to be the motherly figure in his life because there are no women to take on this role. I thought it was funny that as soon as the baby came into their lives they felt the need to change their behavior. Girls we have read about, like Ellen and Gerty were taught the importance of religion and following God. We have not as much seen boys being taught a lot about religion. “A day was accordingly set apart for the christening” (Harte 534). This part in the story the men make it a huge deal to have a Church service, and they decide they must give up profanity, shouting and yelling. I thought this was interesting that men living so rough in strange male dominated society immediately change their ways for the little baby boy.

The Yellow Wallpaper

It is definitely a big transition to go from excerpts of long novels to short stories consisting of only a few pages. My initial thought as I began to read was that I did not need to pay much attention, just quickly read through it, especially since I have read The Yellow Wallpaper before. Though it is short, you almost have to pay more attention because there is so much detail in such little text. Our previous readings seemed to draw everything out, so that you could usually skim some parts and still know completely what is going on.

In the Yellow Wallpaper the narrator either goes outside or “sees the woman” go outside. “So I walk a little in the garden or down that lovely lane, sit on the porch under the roses, and lie down up here a good deal. I’m getting really fond of the room in spite of the wall-paper. Perhaps because of the wall-paper” (Gilman 509). I had to read this part a couple times and pay close attention to exactly what happens. In this story I think one reason you must pay close attention to detail, is not because of the length of the story, but because the woman’s insanity causes you to question her actions and whether everything is actually happening as she tells it. It is hard to know if you can trust her, somewhat like Sybil in A Whisper in the Dark when she is in the isolated house.

Another thing I noticed about short stories is that they immediately jump into the story. There is no big introduction or leading up to events, the author just throws the reader into the story. This happens in Desiree’s Baby. The only introduction to the story is “As the day was pleasant, Madame Valmonde drove over to L’Abri to see Desiree and the baby” (Chopin 517). After this one short sentence the story is a bit confusing as Chopin moves quickly from each character and situation.