The Blue Hotel: A Stephen Crane Story
Written by Stephen Crane
Narrated by Deaver Brown
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
The Blue Hotel is considered one of Crane's finest three short stories, along with the Open Boat and The Bride comes to Yellow Sky. The story starts with the hotel owner trolling for guests at the train station and finding three, the Swede, the Cowboy, and the Easterner. As with many stories the personalities are known by their titles not their names; the two known by their names are the hotel keeper, Scully, and his son Johnny. The first major event is in a play for fun no money card game in which the Swede accuses Johnny of cheating. Johnny skillfully defends himself by saying he won't put up with the accusation, while side stepping the truth of the matter. The Swede is all worked up; no one comes to his rescue; he has a fight with the boy; wins; and leaves.
He goes to the local saloon and gets into event number 2 in challenging the gambler after he won't take a drink. As with most Crane stories, the irony is building as the story goes on. Also, in the spirit of the literary times, as reflected in Spoon River by Edgar Lee Masters and Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, this is the key moment in the story that could change everything. The gambler does not take the free drink; he winds up killing the Swede; he goes to jail and the Swede is dead. He could have just taken the drink and didn't. Later the Easterner tells the Cowboy that no, Johnny wasn't innocent, he was cheating and the Easterner didn't have the guts to stop it by speaking out. Then the Swede would have stayed in the hotel and wouldn't have died. Another landmark story with the last turn of events topping it off.
Keywords: Stephen Crane, The Open Boat, The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky, Winesburg, Ohio, Spoon River, Sherwood Anderson, Edgar Lee Masters.
Stephen Crane
Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was an American poet and author. Along with his literary work, Crane was a journalist, working as a war correspondent in both Cuba and Greece. Though he lived a short life, passing away due to illness at age twenty-eight, Crane’s literary work was both prolific and highly celebrated. Credited to creating one of the earliest examples of American Naturalism, Crane wrote many Realist works and decorated his prose and poetry with intricate and vivid detail.
More audiobooks from Stephen Crane
The Top 10 Short Stories - American 19th: The top ten short stories of the 19th century written by American authors. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMaggie: A Girl of the Streets and other Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories About Animals: Classic tales from innocuous flies on the wall to murderous wolves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Top 10 Short Stories - Sadness: The ten best short stories of all time about sadness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Red Badge of Courage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClassic American Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Open Boat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Short Story Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Blue Hotel
Related audiobooks
The Open Boat Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Theophilus North: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Look Homeward, Angel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky: A Stephen Crane Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret Sharer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pudd'nhead Wilson: A Tale by Mark Twain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Maggie: A Girl of the Streets Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Very Best of O. Henry Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Moon and Sixpence: Based on the Life of Paul Gauguin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Red Badge of Courage: An Episode of the American Civil War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Youth & Heart of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Shadow-Line Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBilly Budd Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Therese Raquin Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Dubliners Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sea Wolf Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Benito Cereno (Unabridged) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This Side of Paradise Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Sun Also Rises Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected FIC029000 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Our Time - 1925 Edition - Unabridged Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Horse Dealer's Daughter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Youth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWinesburg, Ohio Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six Short Stories (Unabridged) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Scarlet Letter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Moby Dick Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Benito Cereno Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Our Time Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Turmoil (Growth Trilogy Vol 1) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Classics For You
The Old Man and the Sea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Their Eyes Were Watching God Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Picture of Dorian Gray: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bell Jar Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Complete Sherlock Holmes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Series of Unfortunate Events #1 Multi-Voice, A: The Bad Beginning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frankenstein Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Perks of Being a Wallflower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Crucible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad: A New Translation by Caroline Alexander Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fountainhead Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Flowers in the Attic: 40th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Around the World in 80 Days: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Atlas Shrugged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stone Blind: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5To Kill a Mockingbird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Schindler's List Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tale of Two Cities Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5For Whom the Bell Tolls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Emma: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Gatsby Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War & Peace - Volume I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pride and Prejudice: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Thousand Ships: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sense and Sensibility Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/520,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Classic Tales Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Blue Hotel
26 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I read this three times in the past week for school. The first time I read it, I was bored. I was all, let's hurry up and get to the point already. Well, "The Blue Hotel" doesn't work like that.The second time I read it, I noticed some of the subtly beautiful descriptions that Crane uses. I saw the blue paint of the Palace Hotel, felt the snowstorm in Fort Romper, and felt like I was losing at High-Five to Johnnie. Crane's writing is so delicate that you don't even realize you're reading.The third time I read it, I got it. I was so disturbed by the implications that I couldn't get to sleep. It's not a scary or spooky story in any respect, but it hits deeper than you expect it to.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I read this three times in the past week for school. The first time I read it, I was bored. I was all, let's hurry up and get to the point already. Well, "The Blue Hotel" doesn't work like that.The second time I read it, I noticed some of the subtly beautiful descriptions that Crane uses. I saw the blue paint of the Palace Hotel, felt the snowstorm in Fort Romper, and felt like I was losing at High-Five to Johnnie. Crane's writing is so delicate that you don't even realize you're reading.The third time I read it, I got it. I was so disturbed by the implications that I couldn't get to sleep. It's not a scary or spooky story in any respect, but it hits deeper than you expect it to.