In the story's first part, the town of Yellow Sky becomes a motif linked through metaphor and simile to notions of daylight, discovery, truth, confession, and uncovered secrets. Towards the end of the first part, the narrator describes Potter's reflections on the implications of leaving San Antonio—and its cover of darkness—and accepting the inevitable exposure involved in returning to Yellow Sky.
At San Antonio he was like a man hidden in the dark. A knife to sever any friendly duty, any form, was easy to his hand in that remote city. But the hour of Yellow Sky—the hour of daylight—was approaching.
In the first sentence of this passage, Crane compares Potter to a man hidden in the dark. This darkness has a somewhat positive connotation here, as it allows Potter the anonymity to act on his own terms. However, the darkness also speaks to Potter's guilt, as he feels bad for the ease of betraying his friends when he is free from their observation. By saying that a knife was "to sever any friendly duty, any form, was easy to his hand," the narrator suggests that Potter becomes colder and less mindful of his friends in the city than when he is in Yellow Sky.
In the last sentence of the passage, the narrator refers to Potter's arrival in Yellow Sky as "the hour of daylight." This daylight stands in contrast to the diction used to describe the urban environment of San Antonio, which offered anonymity and cover. Potter's return to the small and familiar Yellow Sky makes him feel like a spotlight is aimed at his actions and intentions. In this place, he feels as though his decisions are the business of everyone. Of course, long before this metaphor has been developed to this extent, the name "Yellow Sky" indicates the image of a brightly lit sky all on its own. This immediate imagery and connotation are likely what made Crane choose the name for his town. The figurative connection between Yellow Sky, daylight, and openness reinforces the dichotomy of the rough, immoral city and innocent, virtuous countryside.
The layers of meaning acquired by Yellow Sky through this motif also add a dimension to the story's title. Not only is the bride coming to Yellow Sky, she is entering exposure and revelation. This exposure can take many possible forms. It is possible to analyze it as Potter exposing her to the scrutiny of his community. Another interpretation is that coming to Yellow Sky will allow her to obtain new forms of autonomy and self-understanding.
In the first part, Jack Potter explains the train and passing landscape to the bride. Following a portion of direct dialogue, the narrator uses a metaphor to describe Potter's tone.
“You see, it’s a thousand miles from one end of Texas to the other; and this train runs right across it, and never stops but four times.” He had the pride of an owner.
In the metaphor, the narrator compares Potter's emotions to the pride that an owner would feel. However, the narrator doesn't specify what kind of owner Potter resembles. Given that the main topic of conversation is the train, the reader is likely to assume that Potter's pride is like that of someone who owns a train. However, it is also possible to interpret the metaphor as meaning that he has the pride of someone who owns the woman he is speaking to, or the pride of someone who owns the land they gaze at through the train windows. The vagueness of the metaphor provides ample room for interpretation.
All three of these possible domains of ownership offer valuable angles for analyzing Potter's characterization. Although it is most likely that the metaphor is pointing to the train, Potter metaphorically owning a train is the furthest from reality. Ill at ease and unfamiliar with his surroundings, he stands out in the eyes of the other passengers as an outsider. In terms of metaphorically owning his bride, their recent marriage has in a certain way contractually sealed Potter's possession of her. He has gone to San Antonio to fulfill the first step of creating a domesticated life for himself: finding a bride and marrying her. Finally, the idea of owning the landscape has roots in the westward expansion of white settlers into the frontier. Speaking of the land with the pride of an owner fits squarely within manifest destiny, a doctrine that fueled westward expansion and territorial possession in the 19th-century United States.
In the third part, Scratchy Wilson parades around Yellow Sky in search of a confrontation. As he fails to attract any adversaries, aside from a frightened dog that he briefly torments, he grows increasingly frustrated. Crane captures this frustration with a metaphor, which compares Yellow Sky to a toy.
The man was playing with this town. It was a toy for him.
On the one hand, this metaphor gives Scratchy Wilson power. He holds the fate of the whole town in his hand, able to do with it exactly as he pleases. On the other hand, the diction of the words "playing" and "toy" likens Scratchy Wilson to a child. The metaphor may suggest that he is powerful, but it also suggests that his drunken rage makes him appear childish.
This impression of childishness is reinforced throughout the third and fourth parts. Although he certainly inspires fear, particularly given his two revolvers, his mounting frustration over not finding anyone to fight is described like the temper tantrum of a spoiled child: "There was no offer of fight—no offer of fight. The man called to the sky. There were no attractions. He bellowed and fumed and swayed his revolvers here and everywhere." Howling and swearing at the houses around him, his rage makes him seem scary and ridiculous all at once.
The still, silent atmosphere that Crane develops in the beginning of the second part is interrupted when Scratchy Wilson emerges as a character in the story's action. The first paragraphs of the third part, which feature his arrival, are rich with figurative language. The many instances of imagery, metaphor, and simile in these paragraphs enhance the explosive effect of Scratchy Wilson's appearance.
The man’s face flamed in a rage begot of whiskey. His eyes, rolling, and yet keen for ambush, hunted the still doorways and windows. He walked with the creeping movement of the midnight cat. As it occurred to him, he roared menacing information.
In the initial sentences of this paragraph, Scratchy Wilson is both indirectly and directly compared to an animal. The first sentence employs two layers of metaphor: the man's face is flaming, a flame that has been spawned by whiskey. Before his movement is explicitly likened to that of "the midnight cat," the descriptions of his eyes and body language already lead the reader to visualize him as a prowling, hungry animal. Moreover, he isn't simply shouting, but roaring.
In the rest of the paragraph, the animal comparison recedes into the background as the narrator's gaze focuses on his dextrous hands and pulsating neck.
The long revolvers in his hands were as easy as straws; they were moved with an electric swiftness. The little fingers of each hand played sometimes in a musician’s way. Plain from the low collar of the shirt, the cords of his neck straightened and sank, straightened and sank, as passion moved him.
It has already been established that Scratchy Wilson moves and shouts like a wild animal. Here, the narrator emphasizes that his animalistic behavior does not preclude litheness or agility. The simile, claiming that he holds the revolvers in each of his hands as if they were straws, shows that Scratchy Wilson has experience and skill with guns. In fact, the narrator specifies that his skill is "electric," describing his little fingers playing them as though they were musical instruments. Crane extends this instrument comparison to Scratchy Wilson's neck. Metaphorically referring to his veins as chords, he describes them pulsating through the fabric of his shirt as his anger flares up.
The atmosphere produced by the imagery, metaphors, and similes in this paragraph contrasts sharply with the atmosphere aboard the fancy train in the first part or in the quiet town in the second part. All of these comparisons and details come together to develop Scratchy Wilson as a frightening figure, possessing the gross motor skills and voice of a beast as well as the fine motor skills of a talented musician.
