The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1898

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Summary

Background

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Discussion Questions

Literary Devices

Setting

As the story belongs to the western genre, it is primarily set in the Wild West. The main action occurs in four settings. The first is on the train carrying Jack Potter and his bride from Texas. The comfort and opulence of the train are juxtaposed with the other three settings, all of which are located in the fictional town of Yellow Sky: the saloon, the town’s abandoned streets, and Potter’s house. These last three settings are empty and still, rapidly approaching obsolescence and evoking the image of a ghost town. By situating the drama within these spaces, the author demonstrates the moribund nature of Yellow Sky, as it stands to be replaced by the march of progress from the East.

Parody

The intent of a parody is to imitate a particular work or genre for comedic effect, often by exaggerating its most identifiable elements. Crane parodies the western genre by adhering to its standard conventions, most notably through his exaggerated depictions of the villain, Scratchy Wilson, and his “ancient enemy” (23), Potter. However, they are not so much enemies as two actors endlessly replaying a role that is becoming obsolete. Potter puts an end to this pattern through his marriage. By the time he encounters Scratchy outside his home, Potter is a defenseless and domesticated gentleman, rather than the venerable lawman ready to swoop in again and “take care of this thing” (22). Scratchy, meanwhile, is no longer the ferocious town menace but merely a lonely man who is drunk with no one to shoot at and no outlet for his arbitrary aggression. Through the parodying of the hero/villain dichotomy, Crane highlights the imminent cultural transformations of the frontier.

Imagery

The descriptions of the characters powerfully evoke their presence. Potter’s “roughened” hands and “reddened” face show that he is accustomed to a life unsheltered from the elements. Likewise, his new wife’s skin reveals that she is not a wealthy woman with servants, but a person who cooks and expects to continue doing so endlessly. This contrasts with their lush surroundings on the train: “the rich sea-green cloth covering the seats, the shining silver and glass, the wood that shone darkly like the surface of a pool of oil” (17). The opulence of this setting is readily apparent and contrasts with the barrenness of Yellow Sky.

Likewise, Scratchy’s characterization as a “drunken scoundrel” is thoroughly evoked through images of his physicality: “[His] face flamed in a hot anger born of whiskey” (22). Likewise, in his rage, “[t]he muscles of his neck straightened and sank, straightened and sank, as passion moved him” (22). These images of redness, tightness, and being stretched to his limits reflect his frustration and anger as a would-be villain with no outlet for his rage.

Figurative Language

Most of the story’s figurative language is devoted to the depiction of Scratchy. He is initially presented as a supervillain filled with rage and equipped with skill. His eyes, which are “rolling but watchful,” “hunt” (22) while he stalks the empty streets of Yellow Sky in search of prey. He walks “with the movement of a midnight cat,” and he handles his guns, which hang like “feathers,” with “electric speed” (22). He is also compared to a child, but initially he is not the “simple child of the wetlands” (25) he is reduced to by the story’s end. Instead, he is a cruel and remorseless bully driven by animal instincts: “Scratchy was playing with this town. It was a toy for him” (23). However, he transforms from a skilled, vengeful predator to a powerless, lost creature upon reaching Potter’s empty house, which “regards him as a great, stone god might have done” (23). The house, devoid of an armed opponent to combat Scratchy’s rage, is an indestructible, immovable barrier that is impervious to his hypermasculine, confrontational nature.