Roaring Camp Essay, Research Paper

The Regeneration of Roaring Camp

And so the work of regeneration began is Roaring Camp (9). The

regeneration referred to takes place in a California mining camp in 1850 after

the birth of Tommy Luck, son of Cherokee Sal, the camp s prostitute, who

died giving birth. Sometimes one doesn t realize how much he needs to

change until he gets a subtle push from fate. Just a little addition to the world

can cause a regeneration of a lifetime. Bret Harte demonstrates this idea in

the story The Luck of Roaring Camp. In this story, Bret Harte shows that

even the roughest men can regenerate into kind, gentle, wholesome people,

with the love of a child.

The term roughs applied to them was a distinction rather than a

definition(3). The men of Roaring Camp live the way they please. They have

no rules or regulations, nobody to impress, and nobody to tell them what to

do or how to act. The assemblage numbered about one hundred men. One

or two of these were actual fugitives from justice, some were criminal, and all

were reckless (2). The men of Roaring Camp were unruly and all it takes is

the love of an infant to change the rude into responsible. Roaring Camp will

go through a regeneration of a lifetime. All of the men at the mining camp

will strive to make Roaring Camp a suitable place for a baby to live. The

very first signs that the men are in the process of change is when they went to

see the baby for the first time. They walked in a single file line and in an

orderly fashion. Many gave the baby a contribution. The sorry state of the

camp and the men under went change immediately after the arrival of the

baby.

Almost imperceptibly a change came over the settlement ( 9). The

new baby was given the name Tommy Luck, but was known around the camp

as The Luck. The men made sure that Luck was scrupulously clean. The

men decided it was time to under go changes themselves. The reflections of

the latter on the appearance of Roaring Camp tended to produce stricter

habits of personal cleanliness (9). The men wore clean shirts and moral and

sanitary laws were not neglected. The men of Roaring Camp gave up

shouting and profanity because they did not want to disturb Luck. Some men

even sang the baby lullabies. The birth of the baby definitely changed the

men, and Roaring Camp for the better.

It was wonderful how many treasures the woods and hillsides yielded

that would do for Tommy (11). The men of Roaring Camp regenerated just

because of the love of a baby. Tommy Luck was known as The Luck of

Roaring Camp. The men felt that as long as they had Tommy, they had the

luck with them. One should never put all of his trust in luck because sooner

or later his luck is bound to run out. The men put all of their faith into one

little baby. Such was the golden summer of Roaring Camp. They were

flush times, and the Luck was with them (12). The men gave the baby the

credit for their gold findings. The men said their gold mining was going so

well because they had Luck. They found out they weren t too lucky when the

baby drowned in the flood. Spiritual redemption is clearly shown in The

Luck of Roaring Camp. Men can change simply because of the love of a

baby. Also don t put all of one s faith in luck, because your luck will leave

you.

The men at Roaring Camp change from rough, dirty, and loud, to kind,

clean, and conservative because of the warmth of a child. Tommy Luck

really brings out the best in the men. The men also learned a valuable lesson.

Don t set your mind on luck because it won t last forever. The story clearly

shows the sorry state of the men and the camp before and after the birth of the

baby, the regeneration of the men, and the story s spiritual redemption. Bret

Harte does a great job of portraying each character and morals in The Luck

of Roaring Camp.