The Luck Of Roaring Camp Kentuck Quotes

The disciples of Jesus were often people who had great character flaws and were outcast of society, including tax collectors, lepers, and prostitutes. After they met and began to follow Jesus, they experienced a metamorphosis and often became the men and women who are recognized as saints today. In Bret Harte’s “The Luck of Roaring Camp,” the men of Roaring Camp are similarly outcasts of society who are redeemed by The Luck. Kentuck is one of these men who dramatically changes in attitude and appearance, and is the most devoted of the baby’s disciples. This change and experience defines the rest of Kentuck’s life and his death. Kentuck’s unwavering devotion to The Luck completely transforms him from a reckless man into a loving and kind natured
The camp is a dirty “city of refuge”, where the men do not bathe, use profanity constantly, and are indebted to companies outside of their camp (Harte 1483). When Stumpy enters the story it is stated “that Roaring Camp—a city of refuge—was indebted to his company.” the men of Roaring Camp are described as “roughs” because of their missing digits, and Kentuck described as a “prominent citizen” (1483). Being a prominent citizen in camp that is seen as a “refuge”, and contains men that are all described as “reckless” and criminals does not reflect positive character traits in Kentuck. The author molds Kentuck at the beginning of the story to seem like another one of the men who may be a refuge from the law, a criminal, or a man hiding from a dark past. This characterization sets Kentuck up to be a character who is deeply flawed. The camp is described as not being fazed by murders and the only woman to frequent the camp is an Indian prostitute. The first lines of “The Luck of Roaring Camp” describe how a fight would not cause a commotion and “had contributed its gamblers, who, it will be remembered, calmly continued their game that day French Pete and Kanaka Joe shot each other to death” (1482). The atmosphere of Roaring Camp highlights Kentuck’s flaws, as he is one of these men who is not fazed by a fight breaking out and would not be surprised if two men killed each other. The
Kentuck is mesmerized from the first time he meets The Luck and remains devoted to him until he dies. Kentuck finds The Luck once “a-talking to a jaybird as was a-sittin’ on his lap. There they was, just as free and sociable as anything you please…” (1488). Kentuck’s devotion to The Luck is extraordinarily similar to that of the disciples and when he finds The Luck preforming a “miracle” it only reinforces Kentuck’s devotion. Not only is Kentuck devoted to The Luck, he is willing to die for and with him, as he does when he attempts to save The Luck during the flood. Even when he is dying Kentuck is overjoyed to be following The Luck into the afterlife, “‘Dying!’ he repeated; ‘he’s a-taking me with him. Tell the boys I’ve got The Luck with me now;’” (1489). The disciples were willing to follow Jesus into death, and the thought that they would be with him is often cited as their inspiration. Kentuck in his attempts to save The Luck proved himself a disciple worthy of Jesus, as he does not mind death as long as The Luck is waiting for him on the other side of life. This not only proves his devotion, but also his immense change of character since he was introduced in the beginning of the