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Motifs
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Part 2
Explanation and Analysis—Dozing Town:
Early in the second part, Crane personifies Yellow Sky, comparing it to a sleeping person.
Save for the busy drummer and his companions in the saloon, Yellow Sky was dozing.
By affording Yellow Sky with the figurative ability to doze, Crane reinforces the sleepy atmosphere of Yellow Sky. The juxtaposition between the lively drummer, whose chatter is hidden away in the saloon, and the otherwise quiet town accentuates the stillness. This personification of the town also highlights the overall lack of real people. So far, the only person that has been noted outside the saloon is a man sitting by himself smoking at the train station. These descriptions set the stage for the stillness to be broken by the loud and violent Scratchy Wilson.
Crane builds on his initial personification of Yellow Sky in the third part, by giving the houses in the town human characteristics. Scratchy Wilson is on the hunt for confrontation, but comes across no one to fight. When he seeks people out in their homes, the buildings gaze quietly at him as though they were humans: "The calm adobes preserved their demeanor at the passing of this small thing in the middle of the street." The houses' calm demeanor provokes the violent man further, as the undisturbed houses stand in for the people he believes are hiding from him.
It is worth noting here that Crane's use of "adobe" to describe the houses is not a misspelling of the word "abode." Adobe is a kind of clay used for construction, and the word can also be used to describe buildings made of it. Buildings of this kind exist all over the world, but in the United States they are especially associated with the Southwest. Through this diction, Crane reinforces the regional specificity of his story.
Crane echoes his personification of the adobes when he describes Potter's house.
When he arrived at it, Potter’s house presented the same still front as had the other adobes. Taking up a strategic position, the man howled a challenge. But this house regarded him as might a great stone god. It gave no sign.
Not only does Potter's house possess the same demeanor or front as the other houses Scratchy Wilson has directed his rage at, it is looking at him like "a great stone god." Within this personification is a simile that gives the house a divine presence in addition to its human characteristics. Ironically, the part of the house that most aggravates Scratchy Wilson, and most reminds him of a human, is its stillness. He craves confrontation, but receives no sign from humans or houses.
Related Themes:
Part 3
Explanation and Analysis—Dozing Town:
Early in the second part, Crane personifies Yellow Sky, comparing it to a sleeping person.
Save for the busy drummer and his companions in the saloon, Yellow Sky was dozing.
By affording Yellow Sky with the figurative ability to doze, Crane reinforces the sleepy atmosphere of Yellow Sky. The juxtaposition between the lively drummer, whose chatter is hidden away in the saloon, and the otherwise quiet town accentuates the stillness. This personification of the town also highlights the overall lack of real people. So far, the only person that has been noted outside the saloon is a man sitting by himself smoking at the train station. These descriptions set the stage for the stillness to be broken by the loud and violent Scratchy Wilson.
Crane builds on his initial personification of Yellow Sky in the third part, by giving the houses in the town human characteristics. Scratchy Wilson is on the hunt for confrontation, but comes across no one to fight. When he seeks people out in their homes, the buildings gaze quietly at him as though they were humans: "The calm adobes preserved their demeanor at the passing of this small thing in the middle of the street." The houses' calm demeanor provokes the violent man further, as the undisturbed houses stand in for the people he believes are hiding from him.
It is worth noting here that Crane's use of "adobe" to describe the houses is not a misspelling of the word "abode." Adobe is a kind of clay used for construction, and the word can also be used to describe buildings made of it. Buildings of this kind exist all over the world, but in the United States they are especially associated with the Southwest. Through this diction, Crane reinforces the regional specificity of his story.
Crane echoes his personification of the adobes when he describes Potter's house.
When he arrived at it, Potter’s house presented the same still front as had the other adobes. Taking up a strategic position, the man howled a challenge. But this house regarded him as might a great stone god. It gave no sign.
Not only does Potter's house possess the same demeanor or front as the other houses Scratchy Wilson has directed his rage at, it is looking at him like "a great stone god." Within this personification is a simile that gives the house a divine presence in addition to its human characteristics. Ironically, the part of the house that most aggravates Scratchy Wilson, and most reminds him of a human, is its stillness. He craves confrontation, but receives no sign from humans or houses.
Related Themes:
