The Blue Hotel And Stephen Crane's The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky
2603 Words11 Pages
Jesus Cantu
Paper “A” A Comparative Analysis of Stephen Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” and Stephen Crane’s “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” This story takes place at the Palace Hotel, which is painted blue, and is near a train station in rural Nebraska. Pat Scully is the owner of this hotel. The hotel is somewhat of an attraction and an eyesore for the town. Scully meets a man at the station that is simply known as “Swede” throughout the whole story, and Scully persuades him to stay at his hotel. Scully also meets the “Easterner” and a Cowboy, and also persuades them to stay at the hotel. When all three arrive at the hotel, they notice that the Swede is acting strange and bizarre. The Swede believes and is convinced that everyone is trying to kill…show more content… The other two residents of the hotel, The Easterner and the Cowboy, are bewildered and get mad at the Swede’s behavior. Scully tries to keep everyone happy, and attempts to console the Swede. Scully is not successful at consoling the Swede, so he goes upstairs and starts to pack his bags to leave, in spite of the snowstorm, but Scully finally manages to talk to him into staying. The Swede has a certain perception about the “Wild West,” and although this is just a small town in Nebraska, he is convinced he is in for a harsh treatment. The demeanor of the Swede changes completely when he comes back downstairs. The Swede changes his personality when he is drunk by becoming cocky and arrogant compared to the cowardice when he is sober. When everyone is playing cards, the Sweden accuses Johnny of cheating at cards, and the two go outside to fight it out. The Swede beats Johnny and leaves the hotel, pompous and swaggering. While walking, he sees a local saloon and goes into the local saloon. In there, he meets a gambler whom he…show more content… In “The Blue Hotel” the blizzard symbolizes nature’s harshness, the blinding rage of a hostile environment that can destroy our visibility, reducing the landscape to “a gray swampish hush.” The narrator writes that “the conceit of man was explained by the storm to be the very engine of life. One was not to die in it.” The blue color of the hotel represents the owner’s egoism. Scully, the hotel’s owner, seems himself to be as an exemplary entrepreneur and host. However, instead of viewing the Blue Hotel as a peaceful heaven, the Swede believes it to be a frightened place where all danger lingers. In the end, his irrational fear becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Also, a person’s conceit can be an engine of life as well as an agent of death. In “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” the powerful, unstoppable railroad train symbolizes progress and change. The tracks itself symbolizes the native inhabitants and the conquest of nature. The railroads cover about one thousand miles of Texas from east to west, and opening the continent to a rush of settlers. The Yellow sky is a typical exciting Western town that is about to be transformed by the determined flow of progress. The color yellow is traditionally related to the condition of cowardice, and we can see from the title that yellow is very important from the way that the narrator has chosen to call the home that the bride and the marshal are heading