Dick Doyle's Business Card E-Book

Bret Harte

• Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

In "Dick Doyle's Business Card," Bret Harte masterfully blends humor and social commentary to explore the dichotomy of ambition and authenticity in 19th-century America. The novella, rich with Harte's signature wit and keen observation, follows the adventures of the protagonist, Dick Doyle, as he navigates the moral complexities of emerging societal norms. The narrative is imbued with an array of colorful characters that reflect the lively yet unforgiving frontier life, making it both a critical and engaging literary piece of its time. Harte's prose is characterized by its sharp dialogue and vivid descriptions, showcasing his ability to depict the cultural fabric of California during its Gold Rush era. Bret Harte (1836-1902), a pioneer of local color writing, gained acclaim for his realistic portrayal of life in the American West. His experiences as a miner and journalist informed his writing, instilling a rich sense of authenticity in his narratives. "Dick Doyle's Business Card" emerged during a time of rapid change, reflecting Harte's observations of societal aspirations and the often harsh realities faced by individuals seeking success in a burgeoning nation. This novella is a must-read for enthusiasts of American literature and those intrigued by character-driven stories. Harte's incisive humor and thought-provoking insights into human nature offer both entertainment and reflection, making it a timeless piece that resonates with contemporary readers grappling with similar themes of identity and ambition. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.

Leseprobe

Bret Harte

Dick Doyle's Business Card

Enriched edition. Exploring Frontier Life and Relationships in the Wild West

In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience.

Introduction, Studies and Commentaries by Miles Stokes

Edited and published by Good Press, 2022

[email protected]

EAN 4064066460938

Table of Contents

Introduction

Synopsis

Historical Context

Dick Doyle's Business Card

Analysis

Reflection

Memorable Quotes

Notes

Introduction

Table of Contents

A modest token of identity can tip the balance between who we are and how the world decides to see us. In Dick Doyle’s Business Card, Bret Harte channels this tension into a compact narrative that examines the social weight of appearances. Without revealing its turns, the story uses the idea of a calling card to explore how reputation, manners, and chance intersect in a community. Harte’s trademark blend of sympathy and irony guides the reader through a world where small gestures carry large consequences, and where the surface language of civility both illuminates and obscures deeper motives.

This work belongs to Harte’s short fiction, a form he shaped decisively in the late nineteenth century, when American regional writing and local color flourished. While many of his tales emerge from the milieu of the American West he helped popularize, the story’s concerns with etiquette, commerce, and social signaling also reflect the broader period culture of cards, introductions, and referrals. First appearing within that era’s vibrant magazine and book market, the piece situates itself between frontier vigor and an increasingly formalizing society, capturing the friction of a world negotiating new rules for belonging, credibility, and trust.

The reading experience is brisk, observant, and slyly humane. Harte crafts a scenario whose stakes feel intimate rather than grand, allowing character and custom to take precedence over spectacle. The prose is accessible and unfussy, with a lightly comic undertone that never dissolves into caricature. Scenes move with economy, each detail chosen to illuminate how people signal status, seek acceptance, and misunderstand one another. The mood oscillates between wry amusement and sober recognition, offering readers the pleasures of a well-turned anecdote along with the aftertaste of moral inquiry, all contained within a narrative compact enough to be read in a single sitting.

At its core, the story probes the unstable frontier between identity and reputation—the self one inhabits and the version others construct from limited cues. It asks what a name, a profession, or a card can actually warrant, and where the obligations of civility yield to the demands of conscience. Harte’s interest in chance encounters and social judgments frames questions about belonging and legitimacy: who is accorded trust, on what basis, and at what cost. The result is a meditation on how communities police their boundaries, and how personal integrity must navigate the public theater of manners and exchange.

Although grounded in the particularities of its time, the piece showcases techniques that make Harte enduring: economy of scene, nimble shifts in social register, and a gently ironic narrative distance that invites reflection without scolding. Dialogue and descriptive touches carry much of the moral argument, allowing readers to infer more than they are told. The motif of the business card functions as an emblem of modernity—a portable credential, a promise of contact—whose meaning expands or contracts depending on who presents it and who receives it. Through this lens, Harte transforms everyday ritual into a study of character.

Readers today may find the story strikingly resonant in an age of profiles, endorsements, and algorithmic reputation. The card’s analog logic anticipates contemporary debates about verification, gatekeeping, and the ethics of networking. Harte’s attention to small signals—what they enable, what they erase—encourages skepticism about easy labels while honoring the human need to be recognized fairly. The narrative suggests that courtesy can both open doors and hide evasions, and that discernment requires patience as well as generosity. In tracing these dynamics without heavy didacticism, the story offers a timely invitation to examine how we confer trust and why it matters.

Approached as an introduction to Bret Harte, this tale exemplifies how a writer famed for regional color also excelled at moral nuance and social observation. It offers the pleasures of compression—no wasted scenes, no surplus ornament—yet lingers through questions it refuses to settle for the reader. For newcomers, it provides a clear path into Harte’s voice and preoccupations; for returning readers, it refracts familiar concerns through a different emblem of modern life. Above all, Dick Doyle’s Business Card rewards attentive reading, reminding us that small artifacts can carry the weight of character, community, and the stories we tell about both.