Thursday, February 22, 2007
Stephen Crane III
Katja
ENGL 48 B
Journal # 24, Crane III
22 February, 2007
"But a scrutiny of the group would not have enabled an observer to pick the gambler from the men of more reputable pursuits." (Stephen Crane 944)
Taken from The Blue Hotel, the quote describes the scene in the saloon where, soon, the Swede will be stabbed to death.
I think the text well illustrates how Naturalism as a literary style does away with labels and identifying markers. Crane wants the reader to get the sense that in this bar, at this very moment, the customers are all equal. It hardly matters who you are or what you do when you are stuck in a saloon in Nebraska in a snowstorm. In fact, we do not know whether the Swede is really a Swede or some other (insignificant) variety of European. There is also the question of personal responsibility. In Hotel, the reader gets the definite sense that the Swede is infringing on the other customers by demanding they drink with him, which is what ultimately causes the room to erupt.
The lack of character development offers the reader a bleak perspective. The Blue Hotel carries a strong sense of alienation and isolation throughout. There is no "companionship" (945) and no significant bond between the men populating Crane’s story, leaving creative space in which Crane can indulge his fascination for gratuitous violence. If no real emotion is invested in the characters that get hurt or die, the narrative focus shifts to the characters that remain.
On the same token Crane creates Man as an empty signifier whose lack of traits can be more easily identified with by any audience. We can all relate to their bad luck, their deprived lives and their confusion at life. The introduction of characters who were not only of socially low status, but also dishonorable was a real coup for Crane, whose work embraces the pessimism and human responsibility that are crystallized in existentialist philosophy.
ENGL 48 B
Journal # 24, Crane III
22 February, 2007
"But a scrutiny of the group would not have enabled an observer to pick the gambler from the men of more reputable pursuits." (Stephen Crane 944)
Taken from The Blue Hotel, the quote describes the scene in the saloon where, soon, the Swede will be stabbed to death.
I think the text well illustrates how Naturalism as a literary style does away with labels and identifying markers. Crane wants the reader to get the sense that in this bar, at this very moment, the customers are all equal. It hardly matters who you are or what you do when you are stuck in a saloon in Nebraska in a snowstorm. In fact, we do not know whether the Swede is really a Swede or some other (insignificant) variety of European. There is also the question of personal responsibility. In Hotel, the reader gets the definite sense that the Swede is infringing on the other customers by demanding they drink with him, which is what ultimately causes the room to erupt.
The lack of character development offers the reader a bleak perspective. The Blue Hotel carries a strong sense of alienation and isolation throughout. There is no "companionship" (945) and no significant bond between the men populating Crane’s story, leaving creative space in which Crane can indulge his fascination for gratuitous violence. If no real emotion is invested in the characters that get hurt or die, the narrative focus shifts to the characters that remain.
On the same token Crane creates Man as an empty signifier whose lack of traits can be more easily identified with by any audience. We can all relate to their bad luck, their deprived lives and their confusion at life. The introduction of characters who were not only of socially low status, but also dishonorable was a real coup for Crane, whose work embraces the pessimism and human responsibility that are crystallized in existentialist philosophy.
# posted by Katja @ 6:02 PM 
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Katja-
Great entry. I think the lack of development of the Swede's character (which as you stated later acts as a catalyst in pointing the attention to the remaining members) is revealing in a social sense of how belittling or marginalizing a person causes them to diminish and in this case, literally vanish from the scene. After all, earlier passages refer to him as the "little Swede," and next is the "little Easterner. This theme is an American one of racial survival of the fittest.
-Michelle Romero www.michelleromero48b.blogspot.com
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Great entry. I think the lack of development of the Swede's character (which as you stated later acts as a catalyst in pointing the attention to the remaining members) is revealing in a social sense of how belittling or marginalizing a person causes them to diminish and in this case, literally vanish from the scene. After all, earlier passages refer to him as the "little Swede," and next is the "little Easterner. This theme is an American one of racial survival of the fittest.
-Michelle Romero www.michelleromero48b.blogspot.com
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