Genre
A short story, western
Setting and Context
The action takes place in a small town Yellow Sky in Texas; the time is not set.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narration
Tone and Mood
The tone and mood vary from anxious to calm; the end of the story is of the highest intensity, but it all ends well.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist is Jack Potter, while the antagonist is Scratchy Wilson.
Major Conflict
The conflict of the story is presented in the lack of civilization in the West, or at least of some of its representatives, like Scratchy Wilson.
Climax
The climax occurs when Jack meets with Wilson face to face and Wilson puts a gun into the Jack’s face.
Foreshadowing
Jack’s anxiety when approaching Yellow Sky foreshadows troubles.
Understatement
The real danger that Wilson represents to the citizens of Yellow Sky is understated.
Allusions
The story alludes to Texas and its geography.
Imagery
N/A
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
The events in the train and Yellow Sky are described in parallel.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
“this train runs right across it and never stops but four times” (train is a synecdoche for the driver and passengers)
“Save for the busy drummer and his companions in the saloon, Yellow Sky was dozing” (Yellow sky is synecdoche for its citizens)
Personification
“The voices had toned away"
“the plains of Texas were pouring eastward”
