Sudden - Style

Style

The stories are classified as potboilers due to their conventional and predictable story lines, almost obvious plots, and scant characterization. Moreover, they essentially comprise the recurring motif of Sudden succeeding in uniting lovers, resolving conflicts, and then riding away to other towns to search for his enemies. However, they represent an important contribution to the Western genre, providing a description of the Wild West — the lifestyles, conditions, and customs, and the speech — which, accurate or not, is vivid and convincing. The novels are also well liked for the laconic style, sharp cutting dialogue, and dry humor. For example, in Sudden Rides Again, when four rogues block the path of a girl in a saloon, Sudden remarks, "Go ahead, ma'am; if anyone gets in yore way yu'll only have to step over him." In Sudden (1933), to a question as to what his business is, Sudden replies "Well, it ain't advertisin."

Some claim that the books use language that may be unacceptable in modern society, while others argue that the language used is but a product of the times and representative of a period when such language was commonplace; for example, Sudden rides a black horse named Nigger. On the other hand, the lead character often professes respect and admiration for Native Americans. The books, in general, portray racism on the part of any character as a negative trait and undesirable. We are told that Sudden himself was brought up by a Paiute trader, before being adopted by his foster father Bill Evesham. Friendship with, understanding of, and learning from Native Americans are encouraged and treasured throughout the book, similar to the Westerns by Louis Lamour. In Sudden Plays a Hand, the secondary hero rapes a young woman whom he wrongly believes to be a prostitute, then marries her to preserve her honour. The story narrates how she eventually comes to love and forgive him. The assumption that his crime would have been excusable if he had been right in his first assessment of her is not challenged, but would probably be typical of the time the story was written, and that in which it is set.