All authors use different ways of explaining and showing their themes. The author may use the plot, characters, setting, and point of view, just to name a few. In the story "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky," Stephen Crane uses the setting, characters, and symbolism to show his idea that all things must change.
Crane's description of the setting really represents the theme of the story. The very first lines of the story describe the setting as "the plains of Texas were pouring eastward" (224). East Texas had already undergone the change from old West to new West, and this line was showing how the East was imposing change on the West, it was pouring into the West. The setting on the train also added to the to the theme. The train was finished in "sea-green figured velvet, the shining brass, silver, and glass-(224); this amazes Potter and his bride. It is all new to them just like the new West would be. .
The characters seemed to play a major role in the theme. One of the main characters, Jack Potter, is the typical old West sheriff. He always carries his gun, stops the gunfights with Scratchy Wilson, and keeps the town in order. When he gets married, he changes. He does not carry a gun like he normally would, showing change. When Potter married the woman from the East, he married outside of the "general custom" (225). He did not tell anyone in his town about his marriage to this woman and .
did not consult with his family first, which, in custom, is wrong. This is showing that Potter is changing from old West customs to new West customs. The drummer, or salesman, also played a role in the theme. He was showing that it was strange that Yellow Sky had not advanced like the rest of Texas had. When Scratchy Wilson went on his rampage, he asked questions like "does this happen often will he kill anyone" (228); he could not grasp the fact that these sorts of things were still going on. The fact that he was not used to this kind of thing showed that Yellow Sky was far behind the rest of the Texas in terms of advancement.