In two short stories entitled The Luck of the Roaring Camp and Boule de Suif (Ball of Fat), Bret Harte and Guy de Maupassant respectively provide us with a cast of unique characters in each story that demonstrate different aspects and qualities of human nature. In this analysis we will examine three characters from each story in order to compare the qualities of human nature they exhibit: Kentuck and Boule de Suif, Stumpy and Loiseau, and the miners and the nuns.
In The Luck of the Roaring Camp, we encounter the character of Kentuck, a “prominent citizen” who desires honor (Harte 2). In contrast to Stumpy who is a showman, an organizer, and an authoritarian, Kentuck is a man who attempts to gain honor but more often ends up embarrassing himself. When he bends over to see the new baby, it seizes his finger for a moment and “Kentuck looked foolish and embarrassed. Something like a blush tried to assert itself in his weather-beaten cheek. ‘The d—d little cuss!’” (Harte 3). Kentuck, we are told, has the weakness of the noble sex which stands in stark contrast to the physical and mental makeup of the miners. Kentuck is cruelly mortified when Stump imposes a quarantine on who can hold “The Luck”, the name given to the baby. Nevertheless, when disaster strikes the camp, Kentuck finally wins honor in his efforts to save “The Luck” which end in vain, “'He is dead...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’” (Harte 7).
In Boule de Suif, we see Boule de Suif search for honor like Kentuck, only to finish her journey in vain. Despite her humanity and kindnesses to the others in her group, they hypocritically expect her to give up her honor to save them from harm. Once she does they treat her like she is a stained woman and fail to appreciate the sacrifice she has made f...