The Monster

Stephen Crane · 1898 CE · Short Story · Modern / American · Victorian

Henry Johnson, the Black hostler in Dr Trescott's household in the small town of Whilomville, runs into a burning house to bring out the doctor's son and comes out with his face destroyed. The town calls him a hero for a week, then finds his presence unbearable, and turns on the physician who insists on keeping him alive and housed. A debt that cannot be repaid is set against a community that would rather the debt had never been incurred.

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