Comparing The Open Boat And The Red Badge Of Courage By Stephen Crane

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I have always been interested in war novels and who better to read than Stephen Crane. In Cranes short stories, The Open Boat and The Red Badge of Courage the general themes of realism are portrayed through his vivid writing styles and unique language. The idea of isolation and discovering oneself really relates to my life and reading his short stories not only helped me understand myself, but gain valuable knowledge from his brilliant works. Both The Open Boat and The Red Badge of Courage really reflect Cranes realistic writing, his sense of courage and hope, and survival even in tough situations.
Stephen Crane is very renown for his wartime novels. He wanted to have a first hand experience to better share his stories so he traveled to Cuba. Once off the shore his boat the S.S. Commodore sunk and he was stranded for thirty hours. His short story tells the unique experience of his survival. This idea of survival really interests me, as sometimes we don’t know our full power and what we can until we are faced with unordinary situations. Once stranded, Crane, the captain, the oiler, and the cook make attempts to ask God why this is happening to them. They are unsure what a higher power wants with them and why this is all happening. "If I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees? Was I brought here merely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life?"
Crane (22). I took this quote almost as a bargain with God to let him die. They are so close to survival and God seems to be torturing them. This theme of existentialism often makes me question ...

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...me in which the book took place. During war soldiers were not always speaking proper English to one another. His style helped capture the realistic scenes he was so renown for portraying.
Crane was the first real writer of his time; he painted realistic pictures in your mind, and allowed the reader to directly relate to topics unimaginable. Its very hard to picture being in war, but his unique style made you feel Henry’s fear and allowed you to follow his journey as he survived shipwreck on a little boat. I really enjoyed both stories as they were entertaining yet convincing and believable. Too often one may read a book that doesn’t quite seem possible. However, Crane puts you into the story and causes you to not be able to put the book down. Many writers followed this realism model after him, and Crane should be regarded as one of the best writers of his time.

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