Stephen Crane and Allan Poe are among the most famous authors in the world. They focus on different issues affecting the society in their works. A comparison of the stories written by the two authors portrays Crane as a better writer. He addresses realism in his stories hence the readers find it easy to relate with the stories. In addition, he focuses on factual information by telling stories that depict the real living conditions of people.
Although Crane’s stories are imaginary, the reader can picture houses and the community in ‘The Monster’ or the town of Yellow Sky in ‘The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky.’ He vividly describes the living conditions of the people in Bowery and Manhattan.
He also presents a clear description of emotions in “Maggie the Girl of the Streets” and the “The Open Boat.” The quote “Formidable women, with uncombed hair and disordered dress, gossiped while leaning on railings, or screamed in frantic quarrels” indicates the realistic nature of the stories written by Poe. This statement from page 7 describes the real situation as it was.
Crane has written many stories about literary naturalism. In stories such as ‘The Monster,’ he portrays an imaginary situation since the story is fictional. He acknowledges the imagination in the story by saying, “The realism is painful; one blushes for mankind.” The factors described in the stories affect the characters negatively. For instance, some of them get unrewarding jobs while others die.
His works depict naturalism which can be compared with realism in the sense that realism strongly opposes idealized romance. Crane is a great naturalist who tells interesting stories that go beyond their genre.
Men in his stories are portrayed as people who struggle with many factors in a destructive world. One of the qualities that make him an outstanding author is the use of imagery in his stories. The images in his works make him a respected literary impressionist.
In ‘The Blue Hotel,’ Crane brings out the issue of naturalism and community very well. He tells the story of five men making up a small community in a palace hotel. They share basic necessities such as warmth and shelter but they are threatened by nature.
Although they satisfy their needs, they are not able to control the needs due to the influence of civilization. He also explains naturalism by portraying Swede as a character who is controlled by the environment and nature.
Allan Poe presents unrealistic ideas in ‘The black Cat’ when he writes, “I knew myself no longer. My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fiber of my frame.” His Gothic works are too imaginary such that it is not easy to see the reality in them.
In the ‘The Pit,’ Poe explains an unrealistic situation by saying, “I was sick—sick unto death with that long agony.” He was anxious about death and nobody is anxious about death in a real world. The works of Allan Poe are not as appealing as those of Crane since he is a controversial writer. He is widely known for his ability in writing gothic literature.
Many readers are interested in literature that deals with issues affecting human beings in their daily lives. This is not represented in the stories of Allen Poe since most of them revolve around the supernatural. In his stories, he seems fascinated with death especially of women.
His works invoke feelings of horror due to constant reference to death. In general, the stories of Crane are better than those of Allan since Crane deals with realistic issues that affect human beings in their lives.