The Yellow Paint

Name: The Yellow Paint
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson

In a city, a physician markets a miraculous yellow paint that promises to free individuals from life's dangers, sin, and the fear of death. The citizens are eager to be painted, but one young man, despite his good family background, procrastinates. After witnessing his friend's tragic death, he decides to get painted, believing it will protect him. However, shortly after, he suffers a broken leg from a water-cart accident, leading him to confront the physician. The physician explains that the paint does not prevent physical harm but rather addresses sin. Years later, the young man returns, having committed serious crimes, and again seeks the physician's help. The physician reassures him that the paint remains intact and clarifies that it does not prevent sin but mitigates its consequences, particularly in the afterlife. Disappointed, the young man asks for assistance in rectifying his wrongs, but the physician directs him to the police. Eventually, the young man finds himself in jail, facing execution, and laments his fate while still covered in the paint. The physician expresses that perhaps the paint has lessened his fear, leaving the young man to grapple with the irony of his situation. The narrative critiques the notion of superficial solutions to deeper moral and existential issues, highlighting the futility of relying on external remedies for internal dilemmas.

By Robert Louis Stevenson · First published 1885 · Genre: Satire, Philosophical Fiction, Allegory · 1,037 words

First lines

In a certain city there lived a physician who sold yellow paint. This was of so singular a virtue that whoso was bedaubed with it from head to heel was set free from the dangers of life, and the bondage of sin, and the fear of death for ever. So the physician said in his prospectus; and so said all the citizens in the city; and there was nothing more urgent in men's hearts than to be properly painted themselves, and nothing they took more delight in than to see others painted. There was in the same city a young man of a very good family but of a somewhat reckless life, who had reached the age of manhood, and would have nothing to say to the paint: "To-morrow was soon enough," said he; and when the morrow came he would still put it off. She might have continued to do until his death; only, he had a friend of about his own age and much of his own manners; and this youth, taking a walk in the public street, with not one fleck of paint upon his body, was suddenly run down by a water-cart and cut off in the heyday of his nakedness. This shook the other to the soul; so that I never beheld a man more earnest to be painted; and on the very same evening, in the presence of all his family, to appropriate music, and himself weeping aloud, he received three complete coats and a touch of varnish on the top. The physician (who was himself affected even to tears) protested he had never done a job so thorough.

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The Yellow Paint is listed on Textopian as a fable by Robert Louis Stevenson, dated 1885 CE.

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Work type: Fable
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Date: 1885 CE
Language: English
Genres: Satire, Philosophical Fiction, Allegory, Dark Comedy, Fantasy
Length: 1,037 words
Structure: 1 section, 15 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Similar titles

Genres

Satire — The story critiques societal beliefs about morality and the superficiality of solutions to deeper issues.
Philosophical Fiction — It explores themes of sin, consequence, and the nature of existence, prompting reflection on moral dilemmas.
Allegory — The yellow paint symbolizes false security and the misguided belief in external solutions to internal problems.
Dark Comedy — The absurdity of the situation and the young man's misfortunes provide a humorous yet grim perspective on life.