Judge — July 6, 1901 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "Judge" Page: "Mr. Saint Peter's Busy Day" This satirical story by Stephen Crane uses religious allegory to mock social conflict. Saint Peter guards Paradise's entrance while a chaotic crowd of Jews and Gentiles (identified by their clothing) fight over seating in heaven's theater. The satire targets **ethnic and religious prejudice** of the era. The "wise Jew" and Gentiles engage in absurd conflicts—bargaining, rushing, fainting—over celestial accommodations. Crane ridicules the notion that religious groups would maintain their earthly animosities even in paradise, suggesting such prejudices are ridiculous and petty. The humor is biting: by depicting heaven as another venue where groups squabble over status and seating, Crane critiques American society's rigid ethnic hierarchies as fundamentally foolish and spiritually bankrupt.