Essay Example on a Gray Sleeve: Stephen Crane's Naturalistic Tale of Love in Civil War

"A Gray Sleeve" by Stephen Crane is based on the belief in basic tenets of the naturalistic movement. When writing this book, Stephen is seen to be a naturalist writer since he had rejected the beliefs of Methodists that were introduced to him by his parents and he had to get another belief system where he would base his life. The story is a love story which has the setting during the civil war and the use of literary devices by the author helps to heighten the atmosphere which then enhances the struggle between duty and emotion and also the development of characters.

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Stephen Crane uses onomatopoeia in the poem to refer to the sounds being produced by the character. Stephen talks about the horses stating that "they thundered in a swift storm of sound" (Crane). This has helped to give the story an in-depth meaning to writing in that the readers can see how the troopers were terrified at this site. Stephen also describes the sound of the hoofs being like a long rill of many drums. The use of onomatopoeia has provided the passage with sound imagery which expresses the mood of the work. The description of the troops is being made more powerful by the sounds hence the related sense of reality.

The author makes use of similes to create an image for the reader and so add flavor to the piece. He states that "bits were clamped as rigidly as vices upon the teeth" which meant that the powerful jaws had bits that were completely stuck and he also states that the flight was as that if harnessed dreams to mean that it was fast (Crane). Stephen also describes the pride of the horse stating that it was as proud as a chief at the roaring trample. It is to mean that the races were fast and the winning horse was really proud of the achievements. The similes help to accurately describe emotions and feelings as they relate to other things. There is also the use of metaphors in the passage. It is said that "the captain wore an air of being deeply wretched and ashamed" which meant that he was unable to formulate sentences resulting in the inability to communicate (Crane). The metaphor helps in explaining something in a brief way.

The story describes the way the environment and issues of heredity were the controlling elements used to shape the lives of men. The main issue that they try to address is the way that ma is always fighting against a different universe. There was no control that man had over his destiny. On the same note, the universe seems to be playing a cruel joke on the humans through letting them have the feeling that it would be easy to succeed for quite a long time which is not the case. The storyline is developed by the captain of the troopers.

Conclusion

I conclusion, it is true to say that Stephen uses "A Gray Sleeve" to narrate that the lovers could not be together because of the civil war. In that case, it is to represent that the war disrupts the normal life. It is only through adjusting to the environment that people can move on even after dangerous calamities that may result in total destruction.

Work cited

Crane, Stephen. The Complete Short Stories and Sketches of Stephen Crane. Doubleday, 2013.