Settings, Characters, and Ideas in The Blue Hotel The story "The Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane was an inspiring story for many to think about. This thought concerns settings, characters and ideas. The characters he creates are very different from each other, as shown in the comparisons between them. The use of symbolism in the story allows us to imagine why the hotel is painted blue and we can question the Swede's character over long periods of time. These elements combined made this a very good story. The settings of the story are a very important focal point for Stephen Crane. He develops them very well and actually has them serve a purpose in the story. The blue color painted on the outside of the hotel could symbolize its old age and the dark and sad atmosphere that surrounds it. The hotel feels like a microcosm because it is the central point for all the characters in the story. The only place they interact with each other is inside the hotel and that's where the main story points take place. All violent clashes occur in the hotel or its gardens. The main confrontation between the Swede and Johnny is outside, in the bitter cold of the street. The hotel could change the way the characters think and make them really strange. This is shown when Scully shows the Swede photos of his dead family (269). What sane person would show someone who thinks they are going to be killed a photo of someone who was killed? These examples show how the settings are more important than the characters themselves. The characters are very strange in this story. It is very difficult to think how such a group could have formed. The differences between men are great. The cowboy is a robust and sinister type, while the oriental is very open and joyful. Johnnie is not like his father, Scully. They seem to complement each other. Swedish is truly unique and in a class of its own. He's a classic case of a paranoid schizophrenic. Don't you believe me? How about when he says, “I'm crazy, yes, but I know one thing” (267). The only thing he knows is that he will be killed soon, very soon. It is easy to answer the problem and/or question of whether the Swede would have been killed or not if Johnnie had participated in that brawl with his cheating or not..