Self-fulfilling Prophecy in Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses that the self-fulfilling prophecy found in the scenes, wherein the main characters of these two short stories anticipate that something inevitably will happen to the characters, even though the possibility of this event happening is remote. The author points out that because of the actions and behavior of the characters and the unexpected turn of events in the stories, the main character?s fear turn into reality. This paper explores these important turns of event in both short stories.

From the Paper:

""The Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane" also is another case wherein the main character meets his death because of his self-fulfilling prophecy. The Swedish/Dutch man, who have lodged in at Scully's hotel along with an Easterner and a cowboy man, had prophesied that he would be murdered in that place by the four other man he's with (Scully, Johnnie, Scully's son, the Easterner, and the cowboy man). Although this prophecy by the Swede man is a remote possibility, it gradually became true because of behavior towards the men. His victory over a small fight with Johnnie over the Swede man's allegation that Johnnie cheated made him haughty and proud, and he left the hotel confident over his victory. As the Swede man enters the town's saloon, his proud and irritating manner towards the other customers prompted a man, identified as a gambler and a dangerous fellow, to kill him because of his rowdy treatment to the saloon's customers. Thus, the Swede's man prophecy that he will be killed became true, partly because of his behavior. However, the story ends with a great revelation, that Johnnie, indeed, had cheated the Swede man in their game of cards, and the Easterner remarks ruefully that the five men had plotted the Swede man's murder "you, I, Johnnie, old Scully, and that fool of an unfortunate gambler came merely as a culmination, the apex of a human movement, and gets all the punishment." Thus, the Swede man's prophecy becomes a reality, although now the readers discover that his prophecy was not predicted based on loose belief but was made based on the truth, which is that there would be an occurrence of disagreement because of Johnnie's treachery and dishonesty in dealing with other people.

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