Most classic western stories all seem
to have a certain set of characteristics; similar settings, characters and plot
progressions. Stephen Crane’s short story, The
Bride Comes to Yellow Sky, contains some of these elements, but is also
missing some, thus creating its own type of story by the time we reach the end
product.
The classic western always seems to
be set in a small town, with saloons and dusty streets. The Bride’s setting is very similar to the classic western, as it
has all of those things. Another similarity would be the cowardly townspeople awaiting
the arrival of a tormenting antagonist. The 1952 film, High Noon, is a great example of this: The townspeople discover
that Frank Miller, the town marshal’s deadly enemy, is returning to town to take
over and kill the marshal. Needless to say, the townspeople are scared to
death, choosing to hide in their homes, giving no help to the marshal. Comparatively,
in The Bride, townspeople hear that
Scratchy Wilson, notorious for getting black-out drunk and going on shooting
rampages throughout the town, is heading toward the saloon they’re in. The
Barkeep locks the doors and they all hide quietly in the bar instead of going
out and dealing with him. The barkeeper says, “I wish Jack Potter was back from
San Anton…he would sail in and pull out the kinks in this thing” (Crane, 1878).
Little do they know that Potter is due to arrive very shortly by train with his
new wife.
Jack Potter, the town marshal of
Yellow Sky, isn’t your typical western protagonist. He’s nothing like Clint Eastwood’s
brave and confident man with no name, who is one the characters most associated
with classic westerns. Potter is nervous on his train ride home to Yellow Sky,
not of fighting or dying, but because he thinks his town will be upset with him
for marrying a stranger so abruptly. Also, the bride is described as unattractive,
which is so unlike the female stars of western classics like, the gorgeous Grace
Kelly from High Noon. Potter is
unsure of himself and if he made the right decision of marrying an out-of-towner
so hastily. The contemplation of decisions is slightly similar to Gary Cooper’s
marshal in High Noon, who isn’t sure
if he made the correct decision of staying back to fight Miller and his gang by
himself.
The anti-climactic ending of Bride is the most obvious difference
from the classic western. Potter finally comes to town with his new wife and
goes directly to his house. Waiting outside is none other than Scratchy Wilson.
Scratchy draws, having the drop on Jack, but Jack doesn’t draw on him. This
would be about the time in a classic western when Jack (the protagonist) would outmaneuver
Scratchy (the antagonist) by whipping out his pistol with lightning speed, and unloading
it just as fast, sending Scratchy falling to the dirt. But this doesn't happen.
Potter reveals he has no gun and has just been married. Scratchy then gets
upset, like his momma just told him to stop playing cops and robbers and come
inside. Scratchy says, “Married?...No!..I s’pose it’s all off now” (Crane,
1878). Scratchy seems to understand that having a wife gives a man some kind of
purpose or future life that should be left undisturbed, he then decides to just
walk away. So unlike the typical western, there is no shootout; the marshal doesn’t
even have a gun. Also, there isn’t the disregard for life like in most westerns
where everybody and their dog can get shot in town, especially the marshal when
he is walking around unarmed. All in all, The
Bride Comes to Yellow Sky has similarities to the classic western, while
also exhibiting some perplexing variations of the genre.
Works Cited
Crane, Stephen. "The Bride Comes
to Yellow Sky." Great American Short Stories. By Paul Negri.
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2002. 58-67. Print.
High Noon. Dir. Fred Zinnemann. Perf. Gary
Cooper, Grace Kelly, and Thomas Mitchell. Stanley Kramer Productions, 1952.
DVD.
I really liked your analysis of the two pieces. I felt like I didn't really connect with "Yellow Sky" and I couldn't really put my finger on why that was until reading your blog. Jack is simple. He has simple needs and marries an unassuming woman that fits his way of life. The Western hero that we are used to is dangerous and flawed but heroic and you find yourself coming to love who he is despite the roughness of his character. There isn't anything rough about Jack. We don't even know much about him except that he is highly regarded and this town and he marries a woman who is prepared for her wifely duties. Scratchy makes the story interesting, not Jack. I think that having a main character that you don't necessarily root for or develop a curiosity around is something that makes this story different and put me off as a reader. I think this also makes the story more about challenging the elements of a traditional Western rather than the characters within it. The piece really works to subvert genre stereotypes and after reading this, I appreciate the piece more now for what it is instead of what I thought it lacked.
ReplyDeleteI thought you had some very good observations within this post. I’ve studied a lot about the old west throughout high school and even afterwards and a lot of the elements you described in your post entailed the way western confrontations used to be. However, I would implore you to try not to incorporate the literature that we are reading in class with Hollywood films. This is more for the historical depiction than anything. For example, you state in your post that the townspeople are cowardly, which even though may be correct for the literary aspects, was far from the truth historically. I did like your depiction of Jack Potter, when you stated that he was not a typical Clint Eastwood vigilante, but very passive and unwilling to fight.
ReplyDeleteAll in all, I would say that I got a lot out of reading and critiquing your work.