"The Blue Hotel" and Mankind

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes how, in the short story "The Blue Hotel," Stephen Crane expresses his view of mankind and the way the human being is subject to a mechanical and uncaring universe. The paper examines how Crane believes humans usually have little understanding of the forces that shape them and their behavior, including the forces of society and of human psychology. The paper discusses how Crane's fiction is naturalistic, emphasizing that human life is mechanistic in nature and that the world is indifferent to the fortunes of man. The problem's of humankind are largely the fault of humankind itself.

From the Paper:

"Much about the characters has to be inferred from the events and the observations of the writer. The Swede is a man who appears to have been influenced by fanciful writings about the frontier, for from the first, he shows that he believes in a menace in his surroundings and in his companions. He believes that he will be isolated and killed by the others, and he is almost resigned to dying in that manner. His fear is palpable, and the others have no idea what he is talking about and begin to wonder early if he might not be mad. As the story progresses, it is clear that this is a man who shapes himself to what he believes the world is like in any given situation while at the same time failing to understand the real signals others might recognize."

More papers on "The Blue Hotel" and Mankind:

• Book Review # 96587 : "The Blue Hotel" and Theme of Isolation"
• Book Review # 95350 : "'The Blue Hotel'"
• Book Review # 98355 : "The Blue Hotel"

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