When it comes to both the stories Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving and The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky by Stephen Crane they both share a similar yet different way of depicting the social dynamic of a small town. When it comes to the story Rip Van Winkle the people of the town do fit the way that people would normally think a small town would be. In the reading everyone knows each other and especially know who is Rip Van Winkle. Rip was known as the man that “would never even refuse to assist a neighbor”. When you think of small town peoples you think that everyone helps one another and is a peaceful town. So Irving took the more classic road when it came to describing the way the people of the town were. Especially with Rip.

When it came to The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky, Crane went in a different direction. He did not make the people of the town be as friendly with each other than how Irving did. In the story the drummer cried out “Scratchy Wilson’s drunk and has turned loose with both hands” meaning the old man that was in a gang once was so drunk that he is out and about to firing his revolver around town. Now when it came to this specific part of the story the towns people explained to the drummer that this was a normal thing that would happen in their small town and that when it did they would just close the door and lock themselves in because they knew that Wilson was a dangerous man when he was drunk. Now the drummer although he was scared that Wilson was outside drunk with his revolvers he saw that the people were not scared at all. When It comes to a small towns, people don’t normally think that gun fights would be a regular thing to happen. So in the end Crane did not go for a typical depiction of a small town.

I think that the only similarities that both stories do share would be that both people of the town counted on someone to help them. In the story Rip Van Winkle the people of the town would count on Rip to help them with anything that they needed help with. And the people in the small town the story The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky would normally count on Jack Potter to help them when it came to Scratchy Wilson.

“The Bride Comes To Yellow Sky” by Stephen Crane gives us a depiction of the social dynamic of a small town which can be compared to the small town from “Young Goodman Brown” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. To first understand the social dynamic, one needs to understand the story and who Jack Potter is. Jack Potter is the town marshal of Yellow Sky which is a little town that is in Texas. Being the town marshal, Jack Potter is a person who people look up to because he is an authority figure and also as someone who deals with the town’s conflicts that arise. Jack Potter is a newlywed who is bringing his wife along home and feels like a traitor to his own town because he got married without the affirmation of the town. Jack Potter feels like he had “committed an extraordinary crime” (29) in his own words which show that this isn’t a crime that happens every day and will leave a strong impression on the town. At this point, it is well understood since Jack Potter is an authority figure who is even feared at times still owes the town to be completely honestly and is comparable to religious figures who also hold an authoritarian figure in Nathaniel Hawthorne work. The main difference in how each author depict the social dynamic in their own story deals is how the characters are involved in the story. In Stephen Crane’s story, he is able to provide a typical day in the west due to involving the drummer whose unfamiliarity with Scratch Wilson, the town drunk who arms two revolvers which causes the reaction of the Mexican men to leave right away. The other men that are left are also familiar with the situation and are irritated with the drummer due to him asking questions. To the reader, based on the reaction of the people in the town, we are able to understand that this is a common occurrence that occurs and a certain routine will be taken to ensure their safety. Hawthorne uses religion and what it stands for to describe the small town actions and behavior. Crane uses a conflict to give insight while Hawthorne uses consequences of religion to drive home the point of loss of faith through deconstructing the people in the town and how they go on their day after they are exposed.