1 Kevin Taylor
Kevin Taylor
Period 2
Outcast Essay
Oakhurst was the strongest of the group due to the fact that he trusted more in the reliability of the solution...but also the weakest because he would never take a chance on the least-likely solution that could work.
Here is one reason why Oakhurst is the strongest outcast. "Mr. Oakhurst received his sentence with philosophic calmness, none the less coolly that he was aware of the hesitation of his judges." Here Oakhurst is being sentenced to exile from Poker Flats. This is also where he finds out he cannot return and if he does he will be executed. It takes real strength to remain calm in a situation like this. His life is threatened and he is exiled from his home. Calm isn't something you usually experience in situations like this.
Oakhurst approaches life as his profession dictates, basing his actions on his awareness of luck; knowing when it will change is what makes a man, he says. His suicide at the end can thus be attributed to his knowledge that he has "hit a streak of bad luck"; he "cashes in his chips" before he "loses the game" of life. This makes him weak because it is giving up. He might have survived if he hadn't killed himself.
As all the others rest, Mr. Oakhurst reflects "the loneliness begotten of his pariah trade, his habits of life, his very vices," and now starts to grasp that his previous conduct troubles him. While all the other outcasts act as expected, Mr. Oakhurst is an exception he shows unpredicted behaviors unlike the rest of his companions. Not once does he drink, he remains calm and emotionless throughout the journey and although he would rather continue on, he does not leave his new companions. This is one thing that makes him strong because not many people will stay behind and risk their own life, despite the fact they want to, to not abandon their companions.
The gambler, John Oakhurst, is the strongest and yet weakest outcast. Although he stoically accepts his fate throughout the story and reveals his basically noble nature, at the tale's conclusion he takes his own life rather than await death by freezing and starvation. Thus he is called the strongest and yet the weakest of the outcasts.