“The Luck of Roaring Camp” 519is capable of civilized behavior. The camp undergoes
a complete transformation, illustrated through the
characterization of Kentuck, one of the residents
of the camp whose clothing changes only when
“sloughed off through decay.” During the transfor-
mation, or “subtle influence of innovation,” as the
narrator puts it, Kentuck appears regularly in a clean
shirt and washed face. The camp’s once boisterous
and violent ways have subsided so as not to disturb
the baby, and cursing becomes a thing of the past.
Andrew Andermatt
Gender in “The Luck of Roaring Camp”
Bret Harte’s short story, “The Luck of Roaring
Camp,” depicts a fictional western community in
the foothills of the Sierra Mountains of California.
Roaring Camp is a small, male-dominated com-
munity that seems, on the surface, to reject civilized
behavior in favor of a rugged, violent society. The
community that makes up this fictional setting is
best analyzed through a reading of the camp’s gen-
der, sense of identity, and the way these elements,
in conjunction with the characters’ actions, lead to
the overall changing community in which they find
themselves.
Early in the story Harte gives his readers a
glimpse at the community life that exists within
the boundaries of Roaring Camp. First, we see
the residents of Roaring Camp congregated at a
cabin in the clearing where “Cherokee Sal,” the
only female in Roaring Camp, is ready to deliver a
baby. With this detail, the reader assumes the “nov-
elty” of this event. While residents of the camp are
regularly exposed to violence and death, a birth
is fairly unknown. Here, Harte begins to paint this
community as a stereotypical, anti-female, male
entity. Roaring Camp itself is referred to as a male-
gendered individual, rather than a group of people.
After the residents elect one of their own, Stumpy,
to help deliver the baby, the narrator states that
“Roaring Camp sat down outside, smoked its pipe,
and awaited the issue.”
What continues to develop this community’s
stereotypical “Maleness” is the camp’s strict opposi-
tion to female inclusion, as illustrated by Harte’s
decision to “kill off ” Cherokee Sal shortly after the
delivery of her baby. Once “Tom Luck” or “The
Luck” is born and in the care of the male camp, the
narrator states that “The introduction of a female
nurse in the camp also met with objection,” and that
the camp “didn’t want any more of the other kind,”
a clear reference to the community’s view of male
superiority and female subordination.
To be fair to the residents of Roaring Camp, it
is important to consider that the narrator makes a
point of telling readers that the camp, in general, is
suspicious of all outsiders, which suggests that while
the members of the camp may not welcome women,
they equally shut out anyone who is not part of their
community. The narrator asserts that they are rough
on strangers while reminding readers that encour-
agement was not given to immigration of any kind.
Another characteristic of the inhabitants’ iden-
tity that leads to their overall sense of community is
the descriptions of the men themselves. The narra-
tor tells us that some of the men gathered around are
fugitives from justice, criminals, and reckless indi-
viduals. Even though the term “roughs” is applied
to them, the narrator makes a point of letting us
know that the term is one of “distinction” rather than
definition, as the men hardly look the part of their
reputation, with their soft voices, diminutive stature,
and “Hamlet-like” appearance. The barbaric picture
painted of these characters is more or less the way
these characters want their community to be viewed
rather than what really is the case.
Harte continues to explore this true identity of
the community within Roaring Camp by showing
how the arrival of “The Luck” brings out the sensi-
tivity of the men. The mere gathering around Cher-
okee Sal invokes a “maternal” instinct within the
men, who are anxious to see the orphan and bring
gifts to the baby. Moreover, the men are enthusiastic
about keeping the baby and raising it themselves
and, with the baby’s safety at heart, are concerned
about what may happen if he were to be taken from
the camp. The true sense of the nurturing com-
munity of the men at Roaring Camp is seen when
everyone comes together for the child’s christening
and naming, and the fact that, while Stumpy takes
charge of the baby’s care, Roaring Camp as a com-
munity serves as both the baby’s mother and father.
The arrival of “The Luck” clearly shifts the
identity of this community from the stereotypical,