 In his introduction to 1921 's Men , Women and Boats , one of the first Crane anthologies , Vincent Starrett noted the difference in tone between The Monster and the 14 other tales that Crane set in the fictional Whilomville . He wrote , " The realism is painful ; one blushes for mankind . But while this story really belongs in the volume called Whilomville Stories , it is properly left out of that series . The Whilomville stories are pure comedy , and The Monster is a hideous tragedy . " Critic William M. Morgan noted the stories ' similar fascination with " pure animal spirits " and " meanings of boyhood " , but differentiated The Monster 's focus on " a larger , more mature , and modernizing community . " Paul Sorrentino also pointed to the style differences , noting the story 's focus on the adult characters rather than the children , as well as the overall length of the story ; at more than 21 @,@ 000 words , it dwarfs the other Whilomville tales . However , there is disagreement among critics as to whether The Monster should be considered a short story or a novella . Crane called it a " novelette " , and the Library of America edition refers to it as a novella . 
