The Luck of Roaring Camp

by

Bret Harte

Tommy Luck (“The Luck”) Symbol Analysis

Tommy Luck (“The Luck”) Symbol Icon

More of a symbol than a character in his own right, baby Luck represents the idea that luck comes and goes quickly, often without warning. The story opens with Cherokee Sal giving birth to the Luck in a gold-mining settlement called Roaring Camp. One of the men, Stumpy, goes into a cabin to assist with the birth, but readers aren’t privy to the details of Sal’s labor, as the narration shifts to giving backstories and descriptions for the other men in the camp. And then the Luck appears into the world quite suddenly: “Above the swaying and moaning of the pines, the swift rush of the river, and the crackling of the fire, rose a sharp, querulous cry,—a cry unlike anything heard before in the camp.” This description of the Luck’s first cry, which suddenly pierces the normal sounds of the camp, indicates that the baby comes into the world seemingly in an instant. And the story implies that good fortune is much the same way: luck appears suddenly and without warning. After the Luck’s birth, the men of Roaring Camp begin finding more and more gold, and they decide that baby Luck was what brought them this unexpected windfall—and that baby Luck was an unexpected windfall too, hence why they name him Tom Luck, or “the Luck” for short.

But the Luck’s life is brief, and his death happens as unexpectedly and swiftly as his birth. In the winter of 1851, the rivers overflow, and a massive flood rushes through Roaring Camp. Much of the settlement is reduced to debris; Stumpy’s cabin is swept away entirely; and Stumpy, Kentuck, and the Luck all die. But readers aren’t given any details surrounding how the Luck gets swept away. The story narrates the confusing rush of water that suddenly overtakes the camp in the middle of the night and the sound of cracking timer as trees snap—and the next thing readers know, “the pride, the hope, the joy, the Luck, of Roaring Camp had disappeared.” Just like his birth, the Luck’s death isn’t detailed and drawn out but happens swiftly. Of course, baby Luck’s sudden disappearance and death coincides with the sudden disappearance of Roaring Camp’s luck more broadly: in an instant, the flood has robbed them of their beloved good luck charm, two important members of their community, and many of their structures.

Tommy Luck (“The Luck”) Quotes in The Luck of Roaring Camp

The The Luck of Roaring Camp quotes below all refer to the symbol of Tommy Luck (“The Luck”). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
).
The Luck of Roaring Camp Quotes

[…] [T]he name of a woman was frequently repeated. It was a name familiar enough in the camp,—“Cherokee Sal.”

Perhaps the less said of her the better. She was a coarse, and, it is to be feared, a very sinful woman. […] Dissolute, abandoned, and irreclaimable, she was yet suffering a martyrdom hard enough to bear even when veiled by sympathizing womanhood, but now terrible in her loneliness. The primal curse had come to her in that original isolation which must have made the punishment of the first transgression so dreadful.

Related Characters: Cherokee Sal
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”)
Page Number: 16
Explanation and Analysis:

Within an hour she had climbed, as it were, that rugged road that led to the stars, and so passed out of Roaring Camp, its sin and shame forever. I do not think that the announcement disturbed them much, except in speculation as to the fate of the child. “Can he live now?” was asked of Stumpy. The answer was doubtful. The only other being of Cherokee Sal’s sex and maternal condition in the settlement was an ass. There was some conjecture as to fitness, but the experiment was tried. It was less problematical than the ancient treatment of Romulus and Remus, and apparently as successful.

Related Characters: Stumpy, Cherokee Sal
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”)
Page Number: 18
Explanation and Analysis:

The introduction of a female nurse in the camp also met with objection. It was argued that no decent woman could be prevailed to accept Roaring Camp as her home, and the speaker urged that “they didn’t want any more of the other kind.” This unkind allusion to the defunct mother, harsh as it may seem, was the first spasm of propriety,—the first symptom of the camp’s regeneration. […] But when questioned, [Stumpy] averred stoutly that he and “Jinny”—the mammal before alluded to—could manage to rear the child. There was something original, independent, and heroic about the plan that pleased the camp.

Related Characters: Stumpy, Cherokee Sal
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”)
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 20
Explanation and Analysis:

Gamblers and adventurers are generally superstitious, and Oakhurst one day declared that the baby had brought “the luck” to Roaring Camp. It was certain that of late they had been successful. “Luck” was the name agreed upon, with the prefix of Tommy for greater convenience. No allusion was made to the mother, and the father was unknown. “It’s better,” said the philosophical Oakhurst, “to take a fresh deal all round. Call him Luck, and start him fair.

Related Characters: Oakhurst (speaker)
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”)
Page Number: 21
Explanation and Analysis:

Stumpy imposed a kind of quarantine upon those who aspired to the honor and privilege of holding “The Luck.” It was a cruel mortification to Kentuck—who, in the carelessness of a large nature and the habits of frontier life, had begun to regard all garments as a second cuticle, which, like a snake’s, only sloughed off through decay—to be debarred this privilege from certain prudential reasons. Yet such was the subtle influence of innovation that he thereafter appeared regularly every afternoon in a clean shirt, and face still shining from his ablutions.

Related Characters: Kentuck, Stumpy
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”)
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 22
Explanation and Analysis:

Nature was his nurse and playfellow. For him she would let slip between the leaves golden shafts of sunlight that fell just within his grasp; she would send wandering breezes to visit him with the balm of bay and resinous gums; to him the tall red-woods nodded familiarly and sleepily, the bumble-bees buzzed, and the rooks cawed a slumbrous accompaniment.

Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”)
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:

They were “flush times,”—and the Luck was with them. The claims had yielded enormously. The camp was jealous of its privileges and looked suspiciously on strangers. No encouragement was given to immigration, and, to make their seclusion more perfect, the land on either side of the mountain wall that surrounded the camp they duly preempted. This, and a reputation for singular proficiency with the revolver, kept the reserve of Roaring Camp inviolate. The expressman—their only connecting link with the surrounding world—sometimes told wonderful stories of the camp. He would say, “They’ve a street up there in ‘Roaring,’ that would lay over any street in Red Dog. They’ve got vines and flowers round their houses, and they wash themselves twice a day. But they’re mighty rough on strangers, and they worship an Ingin baby.”

Related Characters: The Expressman (speaker)
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”)
Page Number: 24-25
Explanation and Analysis:

The winter of 1851 will long be remembered in the foothills. The snow lay deep on the Sierras, and every mountain creek became a river, and every river a lake. Each gorge and gulch was transformed into a tumultuous watercourse that descended the hillsides, tearing down giant trees and scattering its drift and debris along the plain. Red Dog had been twice under water, and Roaring Camp had been forewarned. “Water put the gold into them gulches,” said Stumpy. “It’s been here once and will be here again!” And that night the North Fork suddenly leaped over its banks, and swept up the triangular valley of Roaring Camp.

Related Characters: Stumpy (speaker), Kentuck
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”), The Flood
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:

In the confusion of rushing water, crushing trees, and crackling timber, and the darkness which seemed to flow with the water and blot out the fair valley, but little could be done to collect the scattered camp. When the morning broke, the cabin of Stumpy nearest the river-bank was gone. Higher up the gulch they found the body of its unlucky owner; but the pride, the hope, the joy, the Luck, of Roaring Camp had disappeared.

Related Characters: Stumpy
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”), The Flood
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:

Kentuck opened his eyes. “Dead?” he repeated feebly. “Yes, my man, and you are dying too.” A smile lit the eyes of the expiring Kentuck. “Dying,” he repeated, “he’s a taking me with him,—tell the boys I’ve got the Luck with me now”; and the strong man, clinging to the frail babe as a drowning man is said to cling to a straw, drifted away into the shadowy river that flows forever to the unknown sea.

Related Characters: Kentuck (speaker)
Related Symbols: Tommy Luck (“The Luck”)
Related Literary Devices:
Page Number: 26
Explanation and Analysis:
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Tommy Luck (“The Luck”) Symbol Timeline in The Luck of Roaring Camp

The timeline below shows where the symbol Tommy Luck (“The Luck”) appears in The Luck of Roaring Camp. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Luck of Roaring Camp
The Fleeting Nature of Luck Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
Isolation, Community, and Hardship Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
...the crackling fire, the men place bets about if Sal will survive childbirth, if the baby will survive, and what the sex and skin color of “the coming stranger” will be.... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Isolation, Community, and Hardship Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
...men much, but they are concerned about what they’re supposed to do with a newborn baby. The men ask Stumpy if the baby will live, but Stumpy is unsure. The men... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
After sorting out these details, the men line up to see the baby, who is “swathed” in red flannel fabric and lying in a candle-box. Stumpy directs the... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
The men mutter all manner of things to Stumpy when they see the baby—often criticisms, like “mighty small specimen.” They contribute all manner of small gifts too, including a... (full context)
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
When it’s Kentuck’s turn to see the baby, he reaches out and grabs the Kentuck’s finger. Blushing and a little embarrassed, Kentuck mutters,... (full context)
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
Isolation, Community, and Hardship Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
The men stay up almost all night, and Kentuck repeatedly recounts how the baby had held onto his finger. But he ends each enthusiastic retelling “with his characteristic condemnation... (full context)
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
...door; when Stumpy answers, Kentuck asks how things are going, his eyes locked on the baby. After an “embarrassing” pause, Kentuck holds his finger up and repeats, “Rastled with it,—the d—d... (full context)
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
Isolation, Community, and Hardship Theme Icon
...and the men hold a formal meeting to discuss what they should do with her baby. The men decide, “unanimous[ly] and enthusiastic[ally],” to adopt the baby as their own. However, Tipton... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Isolation, Community, and Hardship Theme Icon
...else raises the idea of sending a woman to Roaring Camp to care for the baby, that idea is immediately shot down, too. For one thing, no “decent woman” would want... (full context)
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
...quiet. But when asked, he affirms that he and the mule, Jinny, can raise the baby. To the men, this plan seems “original, independent, and heroic”; they all agree, and they... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
The Fleeting Nature of Luck Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
As time goes on, the baby not only survives but thrives, possibly because of “that rare atmosphere of the Sierra foothills.”... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
The men decide to hold a “facetious[]” christening for the baby. A satirist among the men leads the ceremony, and Tipton is to be baby Luck’s... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
Roaring Camp begins to transform, starting with Stumpy’s cabin, where “the Luck” lives. His cradle, which traveled 80 miles by mule, is so beautiful that it makes... (full context)
The Fleeting Nature of Luck Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
...surrounding personal hygiene for “those who aspired to the honor and privilege of holding ‘ The Luck .’” This is particularly difficult for Kentuck, whose grimy clothes are more of a second... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
Isolation, Community, and Hardship Theme Icon
...speak in whispers when they’re within earshot of Stumpy’s cabin, so as to not disturb the Luck . They also clean up their language, cutting out phrases like “‘D—n the luck!’ and... (full context)
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
The men don’t give up music, though, since it has a calming effect on baby Luck. An English sailor, Man-o’-War Jack, often rocks the Luck while singing him long-winded songs... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
...for gold each day, they always spread out a blanket in a shady alcove for the Luck . The men attempt to beautify this nook with wildflowers, having been recently “awakened to... (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
The Fleeting Nature of Luck Theme Icon
Isolation, Community, and Hardship Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
...stories in other towns about Roaring Camp. He explains that the men “worship an Ingin baby,” decorate their houses with flowers and bathe twice a day—but that they’re also incredibly tough. (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
Isolation, Community, and Hardship Theme Icon
...in the spring and inviting a couple of “decent families” to live there, so that the Luck can grow up with women around him. Even though the men are contemptuous of women,... (full context)
The Fleeting Nature of Luck Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
...Stumpy’s dead body and discover with heavy hearts that “the pride, the hope, the joy, the Luck , of Roaring Camp had disappeared.” (full context)
Sin, Redemption, and Children Theme Icon
The Fleeting Nature of Luck Theme Icon
Children, Caregiving, and Masculinity Theme Icon
The Brutality of the Old West Theme Icon
...tell Kentuck that he’s dying, but Kentuck softly smiles and says that he’s going with baby Luck. With the Luck still wrapped in his arms, Kentuck drifts into the murky river,... (full context)