Naturalism in Steven Crane's 'The Open Boat'

Sarah Giddings
American Lit
Humphrey

Naturalism as Seen in Steven Crane’s “The Open Boat”

Naturalism is a literary movement that emphasizes observation and the scientific method in the fictional portrayal of reality. Steven Crane’s “The Open Boat” is a stellar example of Naturalism as it deals primarily in nature. Instead of the characters having free reign in the story, the naturalist author portrays the characters action and thoughts being heavily influenced by uncontrollable environmental forces. The characters in the story struggle to survive against an inhuman and an insensitive nature.
Just before dawn, and not far off the coast, between the open sea and the surf, are four men in a lifeboat. The perfect picture of man vs nature. They

They again make for the open sea, truly upset and embittered. When the captain sees a man on shore, hope springs alive again. This is a truly human quality. Each crew member looks for signs of hope in the man’s gestures. They think the man sees them. Then they think they see two men, the possibly a crowd and perhaps a boat being rolled down to the shore. A sign of a savior in man. After fighting nature for so long thy desperately want to be saved by man. They stubbornly think that help is on the way as the shadows lengthen, the sun sets, and the sea and sky turn

They take the boat toward the shore until it capsizes, and then they all make a break for it in the icy water. The oiler, fatefully take lead of the group, not the natural leader whom is the captain, while the cook and correspondent swim more slowly and the captain holds onto the overturned lifeboat. With the help of a life preserver, the correspondent makes headway, until he is caught in a current that forces him to back to the lifeboat. Nature must show it’s control once again. Before reaching the lifeboat, a wave throws him to shallower water, where he is saved by a man who has appeared on shore and plunged into the sea to save the crew. Finally a savior among men. Once on land, the correspondent drifts in and out of consciousness, but as he regains his senses, he sees a large number of people on the shore with rescue gear. After all of the time in the lifeboat fighting nature, this is ironic. He learns that the captain and cook have been are alive but the oiler has died.
“The Open Boat” is truly a story of man’s fruitless fight against nature. It is undiluted naturalism in its truest sense. Nature has her way with the men to the point of orchestrating their rescue. The moral, one might argue, Mr. Crane seeks to get across to the read is that man is not in control of the world. It is instead, the natural world that is in control of