The Blue Hotel By Stephen Crane Essay

During the post-Civil War period the major literary movement of realism began to flourish. Coinciding with this movement was another writing technique known as naturalism. Naturalism took the philosophies of realism to the extreme, and began to pull the focus from the middle class, and instead targeted the lower class of society. Naturalism can be defined by the unpredictability of the world, man vs. the universe, and a realistically grim view of nature. Naturalism, though not always, was often times more concerned with urban environments. Many fundamental authors of the time lived in urban societies, one of the most notable being Stephen Crane. Stephen Crane is one of the most distinguished writers of the naturalist movement. His

“The Blue Hotel”, also written by Crane is another distinguished illustration of the defining characteristics of the naturalistic movement. This story takes a deeper look into the world of mankind, and offers a perspective unconcerned with the trivial matters of society. Crane writes that people are, “...lice which were caused to cling to a whirling, fire-smitten, ice-locked, disease-stricken, space-lost bulb.” (Crane, 1799). “The Blue Hotel” is a story that is drenched in irony, and Crane gives a very naturalistic view between morality and fate. In this story, it is unclear whether the choices of right and wrong that people make directly correspond to their circumstances. The Swede’s life is portrayed as unnecessarily grim, although due to his own making. However, this work poses the question of if it was someone else’s, Scully, unmalicious action of giving him whiskey that turned him careless. Throughout this narrative Crane makes the delicacy of life clear, displaying both the unpredictability of the world, as well as man’s struggle against