An Analysis Of Stephen Crane's We Dont Matter

We Don’t Matter

The human race tends to sugarcoat natures indifference to man as if it’s an innate instinct. They have an egotistical sense of importance. They don’t like to feel as if they’re inferior or unimportant because then there’s no point in living. They lie to themselves to stay alive. However, Stephen Crane, a writer of American realism, attempts to describe life without idealization or romantic subjectivity. Therefore, Crane’s theme revolves around the insignificance of man in the face of an indifferent universe.

People don’t matter, any efforts they make to survive and make their life better is unimportant at a grand scale. In the end, people don’t matter. Nothing happens for a reason, why would it? Trees are growing, animals

We’re given short or no descriptions of the crewmembers. All we know is that the cook has fat forearms and the captain is injured. These descriptions leave it up to the reader to create these characters in their mind, in doing so they are creating a personal connection. In many ways the reader can relate to the crewmembers. The correspondent (also the narrator) says," If I am going to be drowned, why…was I allowed to come thus far...” Its descriptive and forceful and relatable so its makes people start thinking about their own situations. People usually try their best but they don’t always succeed. If anything we do is never going to be good enough, then why try? At this point people begin to claim and demand an explanation from whatever god they worship. Current situations often trigger thoughts of our past. The correspondent relates this to his childhood when he saw a dying soldier and felt as if it was not important but now when he’s in the situation he realizes how “stern, mournful, and fine” it really was. The only thing that is given specific descriptions constantly is the boat and the water. Crane personifies non-living things and gives them more importance than the main characters! The crewmember’s perspective/descriptions of the boat and water change throughout the story. The water is chaotic, bumpy, and dangerously high in the beginning but as the men begin to loose hope and challenge the gods, the water is no longer mentioned and if it is its calm. Also, the seagulls are flying around and the weather does not change regardless of the men’s situation. Therefore enforcing the idea that nature is indifferent to man. The crewmembers desperately use confirmation bias, the tendency to search for or