FREE ESSAY ON THE BLUE HOTEL

THE BLUE HOTEL

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David Hege
387 Chester Tysinger Dr.
Lexington, NC 27292
336-859-3209
daveandpat@hotmail.com
The Blue Hotel
The Swede is a major source of conflict in The Blue Hotel. The external conflicts that he
faces are caused by implied internal conflicts. The Easterner sums up the cause of the
Swede's internal conflicts when he says, ...this man has been reading dime novels, and he
thinks he's right out in the middle of it-the shootin' and stabbin' and all.(103)
The Swede is frightened of everyone because in his mind, he is in constant danger. He is
described as shaky and quick-eyed(97) in the beginning. Instead of talking to the old
farmer, he stares at everyone and makes furtive estimates of each man in the room.(98)
This internal conflict between the real world and the one in the novels cause the first
external conflict between Johnny and the Swede. The Swede is very frightened and believes
that everyone is going to kill him. He shivered and turned white near the corners of his
mouth.(100) The Swede was so frightened that he went upstairs to pack his bags and
leave.
Scully indirectly caused the changes to the Swede. Scully was trying to calm the Swede
down by offering him a drink of whiskey. Once the Swede had the alcohol in him, he became
a totally different person. Instead of leaving, he went back downstairs for supper.
Johnny describes the change to his father when he says, ...he was scared, but now he's
too fresh.
The alcohol caused the Swede to become loud, arrogant and cocky. This time when an
argument breaks out at the card table, he is more than ready to fight. After beating
Johnny in a fist fight, the Swede leaves the hotel and goes into town. The new found
bravado caused by the alcohol and the fight is what causes the Swede to lose his life to
the Gambler.
Even though this story was written about the Old West, the theme that alcohol can change
people is still very true today. If the Swede had not drunk the alcohol, he would not
have had the courage to fight Johnny. The combination of the alcohol and winning the
fight gave the Swede even more courage and he died. 
Crane, Stephen. The Blue Hotel. Literature: An Introduction to
Reading and Writing. Eds. Roberts, Edgar V. and Jacobs, Henry E.
1998:97-115 
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