Chapter 1 Summary

Stephen Crane is known for his creation of stories about regular people who experience extraordinary events for a brief time in their lives, and the Blue Hotel is an excellent example of this. One of the reasons his audience is so varied (from learned scholars to more common folk who enjoy pulp fiction) is that his characters themselves are so varied. If one picks up almost any of his stories, there is at least one character with whom they can identify.

The book traces the fears of five men during a winter in the late 1800's and takes place in a small Nebraska town in a space of less than twenty-four hours. Sometimes called a study in fear, it is full of the harshness of the old west, and will appeal to anyone who enjoys rough-hewn excitement. Being accused of cheating at cards...