Review and analysis of “One Dash — Horses” by Stephen Crane

A Western Tale

So this is one of my all-time favorite short stories, though perhaps it would be wise not to admit such a thing in modern times considering the stereotyping of the Mexican characters. The consumers of how-to-write-fiction books infected with the show-don’t-tell brain virus will also cry foul on this one. However, it’s a great story. Here’s why:

This story first appeared in 1896, the year after Crane was sent to Mexico to write features for a newspaper syndicate. Just as Crane wrote the superb “Red Badge of Courage” without having participated in the Civil War, it’s likely he wrote this story about fleeing Mexican desperadoes without ever having actually done so. The year of its publication also offers some explanation for the stereotyping of the characters, including the mindset of the main character.

It’s written, mostly, in third-person limited point of view, though at one point Crane gets inside the head of a horse. Crane also slips into second person at least once and several times directly, though subtly, addresses the reader as the author in first person. So in the end the reader has the impression that this is a first-person experience thinly disguised as a fictional event. At least I do.

The main character, Richardson, and his servant, Jose, are traveling across the desert when weariness and night overtake them. They head toward a small cluster of houses, approaching up a small hill that cause “these…