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Stephen crane biography
Stephen crane biography essay
Stephen crane biography essay
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“A man said to the universe: Sir, I exist! However, replied the universe, this fact has not created in me a sense of obligation” (Stephen Crane). Crane’s immortal words perhaps perfectly encapsulate the true message of naturalism, a literary philosophy in which nature is a cold and foreboding presence for which a mere ant and intelligent human being are one and the same. This revelation began in the late nineteenth century after the idea of realism had outgrown itself. Prominent authors such as Jack London and Stephen Crane were publishing stories and novels with the overarching theme of nature’s indifference toward man. Two of their most famous works, London’s “To Build A Fire” and Crane’s “The Open Boat,” were both about men who tried to …show more content…
The protagonist, as the narrator remarks, is a shortsighted man who “was quick and alert in the things of life, but only the things, and not in the significances” (London 651), and is instead wrapped up in him-self. His ego is so large that he even ignores the very important advice of never traveling alone in “below seventy-degree weather” (London 653). This man believes himself to be very strong and capable, but the environment around him debunks that sentiment when his dog falls into the river the two companions are walking along. In trying to save the dog, the man takes off his gloves and shoes, which prove to be a big mistake for him. Because it is so cold, his fingers and toes freeze, and he is unable to get a fire going. His inability to understand nature and even perhaps believe that nature is something to be appreciated causes him to essentially lose his life. This series of events proves that nature does not care how capable or intelligent a human may be. Nature does not care that the man saved his dog from dying. Nature does not care what man has accomplished. For nature, humankind is simply another one of its creations. Because the protagonist takes his survival for granted and believes that the cold weather will not affect him, he gets taught a very brutal …show more content…
Out of the four men who are on the dinghy, it is easily argued that the oiler, Billy, is the strongest and most hard working. In fact, the narrator of the story describes him as “busy” (Crane 605) several times. When the men are swimming to safety, it is the oiler who swims with the hardest strokes. However, of the four men, the oiler is the only one who dies. This sudden change in events only reiterates one point: nature is indifferent. Had nature cared, the oiler would certainly have not been the one to die, based on his accomplishments and skill. It is surmised that nature is uncaring of who she kills. To her, our merits are
Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” has long been acclaimed as a fascinating exemplar of Naturalism, generating many studies that range from the indifference of Nature to the “psychological growth of the men through the experience” (466). The psychological growth happens to every man on the boat, yet is mostly depicted through the voice of the Correspondent and in the form of his questioning and contemplating their desperate situation. Being a correspondent, who is innately able as well as inclined to interpret and communicate ideas, the Correspondent is singled out to articulate the mind of his three fellowmen and of Stephen Crane himself, should the story be seen partly as a journalistic account of his own adventure. Therefore throughout the story, the Correspondent takes the mediating role between the men and the outside world, combines a spokesperson with an interlocutor, and reflects the men’s growing awareness to the indifference of Nature.
In contrast to their romantic and realist predecessors, the literary naturalists “emphasized that the world was amoral, that men and women had no freewill, that their lives were controlled by hereditary and the environment, that religious “truths” were illusory, [and] that the destiny of humanity was misery in life and oblivion in death” (McMichael 7). The naturalist writer Stephen Crane, for instance, explored the absurdity of the human condition. His writing most often portrayed humanity as lonesome singular entities relying on their unproven belief in the benevolence of God and freewill, led by their persistent illusions of being the center of the universe, and clueless to the disparity between their greatest expectations and their equalizing bouts of impendent doom. These realist and naturalist writers, with their revolutionary new method of portraying humanity as capable of evil and as likely victims of an often tempestuous environment or seemingly spiteful heredity, were a powerful influence on...
A true man walks on earth as if he is an element that cannot be isolated from nature and its cycle.“These waves were most wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall, and each froth-top was a problem in small-boat navigation”(Crane 389). The last sentence in the first paragraph clearly illuminates the clear relationship between man vs nature. Being stuck aboard a life boat with four men in rough seas, is a clear example that nature is what dominates a this time. It doesn't matter if one is the captain or the other is the cook, they still are limitless against nature’s force. As they fight the harsh conditions of the oceans. “ In the meantime the oiler and the correspondent rowed and also they rowed. They sat together in the same seat, and each rowed an oar”(Crane 391). After many hours of rowing the correspondent comes to realize that nature plays a big rule in terms of their survival.
In the short story “ The Open Boat,” by Stephen Crane, Crane does an outstanding job creating descriptive images throughout the entire story. With saying this, Crane uses symbolism along with strong imagery to provide the reader with a fun and exciting story about four guys who 's fight was against nature and themselves. Starting early in the book, Crane creates a story line that has four men in a great amount of trouble in the open waters of the ocean. Going into great detail about natures fierce and powerful body of water, Crane makes it obvious that nature has no empathy for the human race. In this story, Crane shows the continuous fight that the four men have to endure in able to beat natures strongest body of water. It 's not just nature the men have to worry about though, its the ability to work together in order to win this fight against nature. Ultimately, Crane is able to use this story, along with its vast imagery and symbolism to compare the struggle between the human race and all of natures uncertainties.
... out that nature, although it does impact the men's lives, does not have any connection to the outcome. With his short story, Crane challenges the idea that men and nature are connected spiritually. He even challenges the idea of religion by leaving the outcome of the men simply to the experience that they have. The boat, an oar, and some directions from their captain save the men from death, not a divine guide. One man simply does not make it to the shore alive. The view of man and nature within this story is somewhat pessimistic, pointing to the philosophy that we are hopeless in the face of circumstance. The point Crane makes in the end is that although people are often victims of circumstance, humans have one another to help survive difficult experiences.
The hardest working member of the crew, he went from operating the boiler room on the sunken ship to rowing on the dingey following the captain’s orders precisely. The oiler simply did what had to be done to get back ashore. However, his death demonstrates how nature has no favorites. Even though he never complained about the cruelty/unfairness of nature, he was still the one to face death. “Afterwards he saw his companions in the sea. The oiler was ahead of the race” (Crane 30). Nature was able to break the false illusion of brotherhood that had formed between the crew (the sharing of the cigars) once the dingey approached the shore and flipped. At that moment, it became every man for themselves and the oiler was on top of his game. This indifference of nature to man specifically toward the oiler since he was most likely the least deserving of punishment of the crew is why Crane’s view of naturalism is illustrated in solely his
In this situation of chaos; a clear choice between life or death was presented to the male passenger; each time the lifeline was lowered to him, he unlike everyone else choice the latter. With that decision made he passed the lifeline, not exactly knowing how his last actions would resonate with many across the nation. The male passenger, or better know as the man in the water after this event, showed the struggle of man’s fight against nature; and how we are not always doomed for failure against the unpredictable force.
A leader and a fatherly figure, the Captain serves as the men's compass and keeper of order. His firm navigational commands and calm demeanor make the men a “ready-to-obey ship's company” regardless of their lack of practical experience. Ironically, the Captain is also the most physically useless man on board. Injured from the sinking, the Captain is filled with a quiet despair over his own ability to survive. A hardened seaman, he believes in the idea that a captain should perish with his ship -- to live at sea and to die at sea. The Captain even clings to the dinghy upon being rescued as if he feels a sense of obligation to remain with his boat in the briny deep. Though distraught over the fate of his ship and crewman, the Captain takes solace in providing for the dinghy’s survivors. Occupied with the well-being of others, the Captain does not contemplate his purpose or circumstances in life; he uses his energy to protect his crew and vessel, finding a renewed sense of meaning in this lesser form of leadership. Even when a callous seagull attempts to nip his open wounds, the Captain gently waves the bird away, respecting its life. The Cook on the other hand, attempts to swat it with an
...t when he began to panic as the second fire extinguished. He seemed as though he had lost all knowledge of his survival skills. He thought about killing the dog and wallowing in its steaming insides for refuge from the cold. "The sight of the dog put a wild idea into his head. He remembered the tale of a man, caught in a blizzard, who killed a steer and crawled inside the carcass, and so was saved."(1752). When the man realized that the dog would not let him come near he was forced to concoct another plan. His idea was that if he ran all the way to the camp, he would be able to survive. Unfortunately, that plan failed as well and the man perished in the cold, numbing snow of the Yukon. Overall, naturalism is the most realistic literary movement. It parallels life more than any other movement because it reveals the fact that nature has not heart and no emotions. Nature feels no compassion for human struggles and will continue on it's path of destruction and harm regardless of the circumstances.
Stephen Crane’s short story, “The Open Boat” speaks directly to Jack London’s own story, “To Build A Fire” in their applications of naturalism and views on humanity. Both writers are pessimistic in their views of humanity and are acutely aware of the natural world. The representations of their characters show humans who believe that they are strong and can ably survive, but these characters many times overestimate themselves which can lead to an understanding of their own mortality as they face down death.
One characteristic of Naturalism in literature is that the characters in a story are described as being conditioned or controlled by the environment in which they are in; in essence man versus nature. In “To Build A Fire”, the man travels in the Yukon at a bone-chilling 75 degrees below zero. The environment in this story is used to portray a harsh, unforgiving landscape that can ultimately control ones fate if they don’t take the necessary precautions as the man did in this story. He didn’t think the environment could pose such a danger that any situation he encountered in it would get out of his control. Even with the advice of an old-timer to the area who advised him to take a partner at 50 below 0. It illustrates that the environment may seem under ones control, but one should never let their own perception of control interfere with the realization of the reality that no one runs nature other than “mother nature”. This is not to say that the environment was set out to hurt the man, rather, the environment was indifferent to what was going through it and ultimately what happened to the man. In essence, nature is revealed in this story to have no heart, compassion, or emotions regarding its actions. In this quote nature can be seen to control an action which is out of the individuals control: “In a seemingly safe, solid spot, the man falls through the snow and wets h...
The external conflict of man against nature and the internal conflict of man against himself play a huge role in the whole story, leading to the fateful outcome of the man. The man fell victim to the struggles the conflicts presented, majorly impacting the story. "To Build a Fire" encompasses the idea of man becoming his own enemy and people remaining insignificant to forces of natures. The conflicts presented in the story embody the aspect of nature as an unstoppable, unpredictable, and powerful force that easily overtakes man. That thought shows how one man has little effect on nature, and in the end, does the most harm by subjecting oneself to nature's fury. The story, "To Build a Fire" by Jack London truly shows how weak an unprepared person compares to the unruly forces of nature.
As the plot unfolds, I feel the story's protagonist falls victim to several factors brought into play at once: his inexperience with the severity of the Klondike winters, his inability to envision the possible consequences of his decision to travel alone in such weather, a series of unfortunate events during his trip, and the misjudgment exercised in his attempts to survive those incidents. Though quick and alert, the man's lack of imagination renders him unable to visualize what might happen to a man traveling without a companion should adverse circumstances arise in such severe weather in an uninhabited landscape. When he indeed finds himself in dire straits as a result of getting wet in the brutal freezing weather, he once again fails to imagine how quickly the cold will threaten his life and consequently misjudges the severity of his situation. His poor judgment causes him to make one mistake after another until he finds himself incapable of extricating himself from his situation. It seems obvious that had he made himself more familiar with the culture of the land and paid attention to the warnings of the old-timer on Sulpher Creek, he might have chosen to delay his trip and live to travel another day. Had he understood the importance of fostering a relationship with the dog, a native Husky with inbred instincts regarding the native climate, the dog would have interacted differently with him, maybe warning him of the danger of the weather through its actions or perhaps providing help, either by sharing its body heat or by going for help. However, instead he held little regard for the dog and the dog reciprocated: "there was no keen intimacy between the dog and the man.
Life is a serious of events. Each person comes and goes from one activity to another, a run to the Starbucks on the corner for a morning brew or the boarding of the evening commute back home. In the genre of realism, these every-day monstrosities are explored. This concept, combined with the “scientific principles of objectivity and detachment” (Campbell), creates the style of naturalism in literature. Through his detailed usage of realism, the author Stephen Crane is often portrayed as one of the leading founders of naturalism in American literature. Having been raised in a religious family during the rise of Darwinist ideals, Crane uses the trends of the times and the world around him to create works that are celebrated by critics as some
The “Open Boat” and “A Mystery of Heroism” are both fantastic displays of Stephen Crane’s mastery with naturalism. The first depicts the struggles of four men trying to survive the open ocean, the latter a commentary on the obscure requirements of heroism. Both stories shared similar characterization by letting the reader decipher the protagonist through their actions and thoughts. The themes of the two stories differed, one emphasizing the indifference of nature and the other musing the ambiguity of what constitutes a hero. The conflicts also shared a likeness, with the power of repetitive nature of waves connecting to the force and persistence of artillery fire. The values of the stories still hold prevalent to modern society. Wars still rage on, many heroes are lost and forgotten, and nature still holds her unrelenting grasp on human complexion.