Tennessees Partner Portrait of a California Miner
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In Bret Harte's short story, "Tennessee's Partner", the character of Tennessee's Partner is an interesting model of the California miner of the nineteenth century, as well as a moving example of the amazing depths of true friendship. In writing the story from the point of view of a fellow miner, Harte demonstrates this character's uniqueness by imparting a combination of awe and amusement into the narrator's description of Tennessee's Partner and his actions. Readers get a clear picture of the character through vivid details about his appearance and behavior, as well as relevant background information. Harte paints Tennessee's Partner as a man with no real individual identity, who is backward but serious and loyal, and who ultimately earns the good will of his fellow miners.
Tennessee's Partner has no real identity in the mining camp outside of his association with Tennessee. No one in the camp even knows his real name (192). His reputation is so tied to that of Tennessee, that when Tennessee becomes known as a gambler and a thief, his partner is suspected of being the same. People automatically assume that Tennessee's Partner is just like Tennessee (192). His identification with Tennessee is so strong, that his own health begins to deteriorate when he no longer has Tennessee around. Even at the moment of his own death, Tennessee's Partner imagines himself joining Tennessee in the afterlife, calling, "Tennessee!..