Roughing It · Chapter
LIX explained
The narrator recounts his struggles as a writer for the Golden Era and the Californian, his descent into poverty and debt, and his friendship with a fellow down-and-out reporter named Blucher, including Blucher's memorable adventure with a
What happens
The narrator recounts his struggles as a writer for the Golden Era and the Californian, his descent into poverty and debt, and his friendship with a fellow down-and-out reporter named Blucher, including Blucher's memorable adventure with a found dime and a starving stranger.
Themes in this chapter
Work and Labor
The narrator's precarious employment as a writer and the struggle to earn a living.
Humor and Exaggeration
Blucher's adventure with the dime and the starving stranger is told with comic exaggeration.
Identity and Belonging
The narrator's sense of shame and his bond with Blucher as fellow outcasts.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Describes his literary work, poverty, slinking, and friendship with Blucher.
- Mr. Winters
Not directly present; the narrator mentions C. H. Webb and Bret Harte as editors, but Winters is not in this chapter.
- Blucher
A fellow reporter and friend of the narrator, who shares a story of finding a dime and feeding a starving stranger.
Key passages
“For a time I wrote literary screeds for the Golden Era . C. H. Webb had established a very excellent literary weekly called the Californian , but high merit was no guaranty of success; it languished, and he sold out to three printers, and Bret Harte became editor at twenty dollars a week, and I was employed to contribute an article a week at twelve dollars.”
The narrator contributed articles to the Golden Era and later to the Californian, which struggled despite its quality.
Describes the narrator's early writing career and the precarious nature of literary journalism.
“For two months my sole occupation was avoiding acquaintances; for during that time I did not earn a penny, or buy an article of any kind, or pay my board. I became a very adept at 'slinking.'”
The narrator spent two months in deep poverty, avoiding people and slinking through back streets.
Illustrates the narrator's extreme poverty and shame.
“He had an adventure, once, which sticks fast in my memory as the most pleasantly grotesque that ever touched my sympathies.”
Blucher once had a strange and memorable experience that the narrator recalls fondly.
Introduces Blucher's story about finding a dime and helping a starving man.