Furthermore, the Swede changed his mind set by the second half of the story. Crane had the Swede become even further distant from the people turning him from fearful and defensive to brash and outspoken. Crane showed the change in the Swede through the change in his tone, his voice was described now as “arrogantly, profanely, [and] angrily” (14). Crane did this out of random because one minute the Swede was too scared to be around people resulting in people not wanting to be around him; and now, after a short time upstairs, he comes back a new more annoying person that people still don’t want to be around. The Swede continues to be even more belligerent by starting a fight over a card game. The Swede’s drastic shift came to a high point as he went crazy wanting to brawl with Johnnie over the card game outcome. Crane comment on the Swede by changing his description from earlier; the Swede went from a “badly freighted man” (4) to “demoniac” (18). This moment goes with the absurdity that is happening, these random people and this one very random person is conflicting all from a chance of survival. The Swede already decided he is at war with these people and he is still got a chance to survive.
Regarding the chance of the Swede’s interaction with other outsiders. After the fight between the Swede and Johnnie, Swede decides to leave the hotel. He trudges through the snow and gets to the bar further away from the hotel and meets a bunch of different people. Now it is only by chance that the Swede left and made it to a bar out in the weather, he meets new people, and quickly starts acting the same way as he did before leaving the hotel. Crane did this because the Swede seemed to be more comfortable with fellow outsiders, the society which is the hotel, and the bar seemed like a place for outsiders to be; so the Swede transitioned fast. During this time the Swede urges the Gambler to drink with him, pushing him and threatening him until he randomly killed him. Crane described the gambler as a “moral” man but with the first sense of danger the belligerent Swede brought him he was quick to take a life. Crane used this moment as a