"The Outcasts of Poker Flat" uses hyperbole to suggest that it is pointless for individuals to protest against established social morality in the Old West. The characters' exaggerated reactions only serve to highlight the desperation they feel. There is no recourse for them once they have been escorted into the wilderness by the guards, so they throw the most colorful and furious insults they can at their former home:
As the escort disappeared, their pent-up feelings found vent [...] The philosophic Oakhurst alone remained silent. He listened calmly to Mother Shipton’s desire to cut somebody’s heart out, to the repeated statements of the Duchess that she would die in the road, and to the alarming oaths that seemed to be bumped out of Uncle Billy as he rode forward.
In order to express their extreme dissatisfaction, almost every exiled character curses hyperbolically at Poker Flat. These violent images of "dying in the road" and descriptions of "alarming oaths" could initially make the reader suspect that these characters might actually be the depraved monsters the town accuses them of being. It quickly becomes clear, however, that the curses are simply sincere—if useless—emotional expression. Harte’s characters object in the only (and ultimately ineffectual) way that they can, and the strength of their threats serves to underscore the pathetic situation in which they find themselves. No matter what or how intensely they threaten and curse, they can't change their fate. The “desire” that Mother Shipton feels to “cut somebody’s heart out” is a powerful statement, but because of her situation, it is also a meaningless shout into the void.
