On Stephen Crane 3

Yuen Man Ho
English 48B
February 23, 2007
Journal #29 Stephen Crane

I. Quote

“He has never considered it his affair that a soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers, nor had it appeared to him as a matter for sorrow. It was less to him than the breaking of a pencil’s point. Now, however, it quaintly came to him as a human, living thing… it was an actuality – stern, mournful, and fine.”

II. Summary

Stephen Crane frankly admitted his lack of empathy – before having an experience of almost losing his life, even adverse atrocities or calamities at the other side of the world did not arouse any feelings or emotions – he just regarded them as some kind of stories. Nevertheless, after coming to a similar situation himself, he finally realized how it was like of being close to death. He described it as “stern, mournful, and fine.”

III. Response

I was bewildered at how cold-blooded Crane used to be – he considered soldiers’ deaths to be less than the breaking of a pencil’s point. Yet, I am also enthralled by his unusual frankness. He did not attempt to hide his vices from readers; he boldly announced them. He displayed his entire self before his readers, and has successfully presented a comprehensive image of himself: calm, experimental, rebellious and observant.

His simple directness makes his writing to be strongly realistic – it does not merely expose the skin, but is able to burrow deeply into the nerves and impulses. His story is no glitz studded fairy tale, but plain, blunt truth. No wonder Crane was alienated from the society – he was too conceited to follow the tide of society and the footsteps of others.