The term evolution, as defined by Webster’s Collegiate dictionary, is the gradual process of development or change; thus, according to the field of biological science, the physical form of mankind, derived from an untamed animal state, is one that has continued to redefine and develop over time. In order to recognize this theory, one must be willing to accept that at the very nature of mankind, is a type of carnal instinct – a bestial component that forces out man’s desire for reason, compassion, and affection. Through his incorporation of animalistic imagery within The Blue Hotel, Stephen Crane unveils the barbaric nature of the townspeople in Fort Romper, which is hitherto masked beneath a fallacious image of civilization and humanity.
The romanticized image of the “Old West,” made popular through the adventure and danger of late nineteenth century dime novels as well as the sex appeal and grit of contemporary actors like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, is replicated through Crane’s Nebraskan town, Fort Romper. Complete with all the typical “wild-west” necessities - a saloon, a cowboy, a bar fight, and a poker game, Fort Romper embraces the clichéd societal image of uncivilized America; however, those who dwell in this small western town refuse to acknowledge its defining structural characteristics - violence and deceit, and thus “[pretend] to [be] civilized . . . by imitating an Eastern model” (Church 99). The community members attempt to “affirm a benign climate that has . . . the superficial appearance of peacefulness and . . . stability;” and just like the townspeople, the author also attempts to disguise the actual nature of the community through his initial use of animal imagery (Feaster 81).
The “Blue Hotel,” or the centerpiece of the town, is described in the opening paragraph as “a light blue . . . shade that is on the legs of a kind of heron” (325). Crane’s comparison of the hotel’s hue to a heron, or a bird that acts as an overt representation of nature’s inherent peace and tranquility, leads the reader to believe that the hotel is a type of safe haven; and moreover, that the town acts as a harbor shielding its members from the danger and peril that one may face in other regions of the west. However, as Scully, the owner of the hotel, escorts the guests into his establishment for the evening, the author’s implementation of animal imagery quickly changes from serene to chilling.
The three guests at the hotel, the Swede, the cowboy, and the Easterner, settle in for the night, and engage in a competitive yet trivial game of cards with Johnnie, Scully’s son. As the game wages on, the Swede, “hyper-alert because of his reading of dime novels” begins hysterically accusing the other guests of attempting to kill him (Church 99). In frenzy, and described as exuding a “dying-swan look,” he spats, “I suppose I am going to be killed before I can leave this house” (330). Because a dying-swan illustrates an end to perfection and beauty within nature, this explicit imagery parallels Fort Romper and the manner in which its image of safety and civility is proven superficial by the Swede, whom “can see the signs of the community’s latent corruption and violence” (Church 99). Thus, the author’s inclusion of natural imagery transforms the hotel, as well as the entire community, from a refuge that possesses the heron, or perhaps heroin-like characteristics of peace and safety, to a dangerous internment – which is capable of stealing the lives of its visitors. In addition to the previously included examples of animal imagery in regards to the community, the true barbaric nature of the individuals in Fort Romper is also revealed by the Swede’s ability to “see things as they are” (Church 99). When the Swede attacks Johnnie with the following words, “You are cheatin’!” the room is immediately transformed into a battle ring, and the men into savage animals, fighting for survival and spurred by the blinding fury of masculine pride (339). As Johnnie and the Swede actually retreat into battle, the usage of animal imagery explodes and the two characters are stripped of all human-like traits, and become like soulless and vicious animals, violently struggling for power and status. “The two combatants [leap] forward and [crash] together . . . [and] there was heard the . . . sound of blows . . . out from between the tight teeth of one” (343). Like “bullocks” the two humans attacked each other until the “bloody, pulpy face of [Johnnie]” indicated victory on behalf of the Swede (344).
The spectators of the fight also adopt animalistic characteristics; Scully is described as moving around in “panther-fashion” as he outlined the rules of the fight for the two opponents, and the cowboy is referred to as “[bolting] forward with the speed of a broncho” (342, 343). Not only are these two men physically described as animals, but they also display a brute and barbaric mentality that advocates competition and violence above humanity, benevolence, and reason. This inhumane attitude is demonstrated after the fight as Scully retorts, “I’d loike to take that Swade . . . and bate ‘im to a jelly wid a shtick,” and the cowboy adds, “I’d like to git him by the neck and ha-ammer him . . . until he couldn’t tell himself from a dead coyote!” (347-8).
Because of the boorish, uncultivated, and barbarous characteristics that the men at Fort Romper assume, it becomes evident that the town in which they dwell has merely “repressed its violence” (Church 100); In essence, the “mythologized view of the West as a place of violence . . . that Scully . . . [is] determined in the full sense of [the] word, to deny” becomes the community’s reality (Feaster 81). Fort Romper is not a sophisticated and elegant Western town like the heron imagery that describes the hotel would suggest; it is instead a violent and perfidious community that encourages fighting over reckoning, and thus parallels the depiction of the Wild West in Eastern dime novels.
The final act of animal-like brutality occurs in the saloon when the gambler stabs the Swede’s body “as easily as if it had been a melon” (352) Crane incorporates the words “sprang, dashed, and pierced” in order to portray the Swede’s death as a hunt, a normal component of nature, instead of the murder of an innocent human-being (352). Essentially, the drunken Swede, a mere annoyance to the townspeople in the bar, was like a rodent - a helpless vermin in the sharp and unconquerable “knife-like” claws of the societal structure of the Wild West.
Throughout The Blue Hotel, Stephen Crane incorporates the usage of bestial imagery in order to compare the townspeople to animals, and thus expose the community’s true nature of dishonesty, immortality, and violence. Just as an animal will fight solely for the prosperity and survival of its own species, destroying any other creature that may stand in its path of success, the townspeople at Fort Romper were also willing to eliminate the Swede, because of his refusal to “assimilate” and connive with the corruptness of the town (Church 100). The Swede, able to see through the town’s shallow image of Eastern courtesy, bravely unveiled the “violent origins and lawlessness” of the community (Church 103); yet, in the end, the wild, untamable, and romantic West prevailed – perhaps, just as it should.

Bibliography:

Church, Joseph. “The Determined Stranger in Stephen Crane's ‘The Blue Hotel.'” Studies in the Humanities 16.2 (December 1989): 99-110. Crane, Stephen. Great Works of Stephen Crane. New York: Harper & Rowe, 1965. Feaster, John. “Violence and the Ideology of Capitalism: A Reconsideration of Crane's ‘The Blue Hotel.'” American Literary Realism 25.1 (Fall 1992): 74-94.