Jack Potter By Scratchy Wilson

Considering that typical Westerns tend to stress the harshness of the wilderness and the action is set in an arid, desolate landscape of deserts and mountains. Usually these stories are about revenge or protecting the land, fighting Indians or bounty hunters. They begin with a crime, then comes the pursuit and it all ends with revenge and retribution. The reader does not get to learn anything meaningful about the characters. Yet, from the introduction of Jack Potter, we are taught of his nervousness and shyness. Throughout the rest of the story, we learn of how he enjoys pointing out things to his new wife. Potter is human enough to feel tenderness towards his new wife and to feel awkward in the dining car with the porter. He worries about what his townspeople will think of him having married without sharing the news beforehand. He was frightened of
how his friends will react, sure that they will not forgive him.

The description of the land surrounding the saloon does not hold up to the old Westerns. It is described as having "vivid green grass plots" and "fresh-cut bank of the Rio Grande circled near the town" and the mesquite are no longer described as dull hued but as a "plum-colored plain of mesquite." The way the landscape is described in Westerns paints them to be bland and drab, lifeless and dull.

Giving Jack Potter all these distinctly human characteristics do mock the idea of the old West.
He was a policeman and now that he is married, he could be and probably would be considered just another married citizen. Prior to our introduction to Scratchy Wilson, we are introduced to what is more typical of Westerns. The saloon is the main focus, men nursing their whiskeys until they're alerted to the wandering of Scratchy Wilson. Wilson is the man who stands opposite of Potter. We learn nothing about Scratchy Wilson other than he's a wild and out of control drunk. Sweet as pie when he's sober, everything else we learn about Scratchy is more typical of the original West. While Scratchy seems to be the typical Western town drunk, the clothing he sports tells a different story. This also makes fun of the original Western. While Scratchy would more likely be wearing a dress shirt and trousers, he is described as wearing a fancy shirt one would buy in New York. Even Scratchy's boots are not true to the Western story as they are obviously not made for work but for looks: "red tops with gilded
imprints".

While Crane's story is a Western, it is definitely not the typical Western that comes to mind as he humanizes the characters and gives the landscape a lush and beautiful description. There are no fights, no vows of retribution, no gun-slinging gone for revenge. It is a twist on the old idea of what creates a Western.