Analysis of Stephen Crane's "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky"
...more; he was beginning a new one with another. One thing Jack Potter worries about on the way back to Yellow Sky is if his new bride from another city will be accepted by the town. Jack feels like he has done something wrong and “was beginning to find the shadow of a deed weigh upon him like a leaden slab” (Meyer 286). The arrival at Yellow Sky is a relief to Potter because there is no band or large crowd of people to welcome him home, or to judge him so soon. “Potter and his bride walked sheepishly and with speed” (Meyer 291) to their new home only to find a drunk Scratchy Wilson waiting for them. Scratchy wants to fight Potter, but Jack explains that he had just gotten married and was carrying no gun. The new life of Potter becomes that of a man with responsibilities and a duty to his new found love. The Weary Gentlemen Saloon has grown accustomed to the occasional drunken outrage of Scratchy Wilson. On the other hand, a traveling salesman in the bar is not, and could not understand how routine this action was. He fears for his life while Scratchy goes around shouting and shooting his gun in every direction imaginable. With the Marshal gone in San Antonio there is no one in the town to stop him from running wild. See this is a little game that Scratchy liked to play with the town, but Scratchy had no one to play with. Aware of this, the drunk heads over to the home of Jack Potter and demands he show his face. The anger of Scratchy Wilson grows as Potter reaches his home. With his revolver pointing straight at Potter, Scratchy hears that Potter had gotten married and was not carrying a gun. At first Scratchy does not comprehend the news, but soon his gun drops to his side. Scratchy accepts the situation and states, “I s’pose it’s all off now,” (Meyer 292). This is the last time the two men would play their little game and Scratchy is then forced to grow up, or get left behind. The last thing that changes and will change more over time is the town of Yellow Sky itself. The conventional ways of the town are going to change after the bride came to Yellow Sky. More and more men will venture out of their small town to bring back women for marriage. Scratchy Wilson will never again bang and shoot at the door of the Weary Gent...