Stephen Crane

The Blue Hotel (Tale Blazers) Stephen Crane

This is a story about three travelers passing through Fort Romper, Nebraska. Pat Scully, the owner of the Palace Hotel, draws the men to his hotel that is near the train station. In the hotel the three men meet Johnnie, son of Scully, and agree to play a game of cards with him. During the game, the Swede declares Johnnie as a cheater; this gives rise to a fistfight between Johnnie and the Swede. The Swede wins the fight but leaves the hotel with a false sense of confidence. He goes to a nearby bar and boasts about his victory and eventually gets himself in a fight with a gambler; and Swede eventually is killed. The central idea behind the action in the story is that a person might play a minor role in a terrible act and think that it's ok, but when the outcome is seen it can be that the person who play minor roles may be equal to the persons at large.