The Blue Hotel - Stephen Crane

Author: Stephen Crane Date: 1899 Setting: Fort Romper, Nebraska, late 1800's Availability: Read The Blue Hotel on line, free

Story: Three visitors disembark from the train at Romper, Nebraska, and are led to the Palace Hotel, painted a garish blue, by the proprietor, Patrick Scully. The three are an unpretentious Easterner, a very quiet man; a cowboy; and a Swede, who is the central figure in the story. Almost as soon as they arrive, a blizzard develops, so everyone is isolated at the hotel. The men, along with the proprietor’s son, Johnnie (a young adult), begin to play a card game. The Swede begins to make strange, loud pronouncements, beginning with "I suppose there have been a good many men killed in this room." He continues making inappropriate remarks throughout the game, even claiming that he knows he is going to be killed before the day is over. The others try to ignore him.

Patrick Scully, who is a good businessman, tries to placate and befriend the Swede, and to calm him down. He has some moderate success. Johnnie notes that his father is even willing to take some measure of abuse from the Swede just because the "customer is always right."

After dinner, the men begin another game of cards. The Swede is still too loud, speaks too often, and says bizarre things. At one point he accuses Johnnie of cheating. Johnnie takes offense, and the men all go out to the lee side of the hotel, still in a blizzard, to fight it out. Scully agrees that if Johnnie wants to fight for his honor that he will allow it.

When the Swede wins the fight he is still not satisfied and he leaves the hotel and makes his way into downtown, where he insinuates himself on the patrons of the town bar.

Commentary: The Blue Hotel is a story with many possible interpretations. There have been many analysts with more ability than I have who have tried to figure it out, who still can’t agree on what it means.

Almost certainly there is one set of meanings centered on the Swede’s misconception of what the "West" is like. He assumes that there is a lot of renegade actions and gunplay, and what he finds there does not match with his preconceptions.

There is a clear message of the self-fulfilling prophecy. If the Swede hadn’t been so dogmatic about what was going to happen, and so obnoxious to all, he probably wouldn’t have come to the end that he did.

Finally, another whole twist is put on the story by a sort of epilogue where the Easterner confirms that Johnnie was cheating and suggests to the cowboy that they all hold a certain level of responsibility for the fate of the Swede.

A part of me would like the blue hotel building to be symbolic of the world in general, but then the Swede leaves and moves the action to a different location. To carry this analogy along, Patrick Scully would need to be God, and the bar some sort of purgatory where the Swede receives his final judgment. Perhaps that does work!

There is a message that we are all pretty normal inside despite outward appearances. The hotel is painted a garish blue to make it stand out and attract customers, but then it is clearly quite a normal establishment once we see inside. Is this also a message about the true character of the Swede?

Clearly, that things are not what they appear to be is a strong theme. The gambler at the bar is more than a professional gambler, but also a family man and frequent participant in the local group of men who simply pass the time in discussing various topics of interest. Yet, he turns out to be the one who deals with the Swede in an unexpected way.

In any case, The Blue Hotel will give you plenty to think about.

Author info: Stephen Crane 1871-1900. Crane lived a short life, yet is recognized as one of the master American story tellers. Early on, he used themes from the naturalist school (we are victims of our environment), but later shifted to themes where people had more control over their own destiny. He was the son of a Methodist minister, and although he was gifted, never did well in school. He lived in extreme poverty most of his adult life, insisting that he pay his own way through writing. Even though Red Badge of Courage was acclaimed in his lifetime, he was never able to earn enough to raise his standard of living. He traveled through the American West as a syndicated journalist, and also traveled to Europe. He contracted tuberculosis, then malaria. He took such poor care of himself, that he died at age 28.

Unusual Words:
gripsack- a suitcase
sled-stake- a piece of wood which can be inserted in a sled frame to hold side boards- easily removeable, often used as a weapon, and necessarily straight.

Rating:
Language skills 9
Depth of meaning 9

 

M'liss - Bret Harte

Author: Bret Harte Date: 1873 Setting: the Sierra Nevadas- mid 1800s Availability: Read M'liss on line, free

Story: Living as an outcast of society in the failed Sierra mining town of Smith’s Pocket, the nine-year-old Melissa Smith survives in a near-animal existence. Her father, former discoverer of the “pocket” of gold, but now the town drunk, pays her no heed. She has been expelled from Sunday School, and lives by her wits and her wiry strength. She is locally known simply as M’liss.

One day, she appears at the schoolhouse after hours, and informs the young school master that she is coming to school. Over the course of the following months, she shows herself to be able to learn, and to act and dress in more socially acceptable ways.

But, when her drunken father commits suicide one night, she realizes that as horrible as he was, he was all she had. The school master becomes, in effect, her guardian. She lives with a large family in town, but spends time with the master whenever possible. They occasionally walk together in the woods, he finds her weaving wreaths of grass and flowers for her father’s grave. Although she is embarrassed, she allows him to share in these moments of her weakness. She likes to weave the poison monkshood flower into these wreaths, and the master warns her of its deadly powers.

Despite her youth, she feels a great affection for the school master. When the pretty, blond, oldest daughter of her foster family, Clytemnestra (all of this family’s children were given ostentatious classical names), develops a crush on the master, the brunette M’liss is outraged and jealous with all the passion of a pre-adolescent girl. She dubs Clytemnestra “that white girl.”

In time, the school master feels the need to leave the confines of Smith’s Pocket, but what will become of M’liss?

Commentary: Bret Harte is sometimes credited with inventing the genre of western fiction. His love for, and knowledge of the American West created vivid settings for his stories.

M’liss is sometimes considered a novelette, and was made into a movie several times. Three silent versions were made in 1915, 1918, and again in 1922 as "The Girl Who Ran Wild." The most famous 1918 version starred Mary Pickford. It was again adapted for the screen in 1936, starring Anne Shirley.

The story does not have deep, hidden meanings, but tells a simple story in a way that appeals to anyone who loves a happy ending. Harte’s stories were captivating as much for their backdrops as for the characters themselves. He was a highly popular writer of the 19th Century. Much of the emotional play of the characters is merely hinted at, and left to the reader to develop through imagination.

The sentimental style perhaps does not speak to modern readers as much as it did to those of a past age, but the truths of human relationships cross all times and places.

Author info: Bret Harte (1836-1902) was born Francis Brett Hart in Albany, New York. He moved to California early and edited several newspapers. Writing was always a passion; his first story was published when he was only 11 years old. As the popularity of his stories waned he moved to Europe and continued writing, spending the last 24 years of his life there. He is considered to be one of the uniquely American writers.

Unusual Words:
stuff- a type of durable cloth of wool, or linen and wool
ceanothus- a buckthorn shrub with white blossoms
drugget- felted cheap fabric



Rating:
Language skills 8
Depth of meaning 6