Stephen Crane's The Open Boat

1242 Words3 Pages

Nature is its own being. It does not care how it affects people, nor does it care whether its actions are understood by man. Nature does not set out to purposely harm nor help anyone. In other words, it is not cruel or compassionate. It is simply its own indifferent being. Stephen Crane shows this in his short story, “The Open Boat”. Stephen Crane writes this story from a real life experience in which he too was stranded on a dinghy after being shipwrecked. Through this story, his feelings about nature are revealed (Spofford 1). “The Open Boat”, written by Stephen Crane, reveals that nature is indifferent to the struggles of man through the use of imagery, foreshadowing, and narrative method.
“The Open Boat” is a short story about four men’s struggle to survive in a ten foot dinghy after their ship has sunk in the middle of the night. In the dinghy, there is the captain, an oiler, a correspondent, and a cook. Throughout the story, the men are constantly at the mercy of nature. They are continually worrying about the boat capsizing or filling up with water because the surf and the wind are so atrocious. While they are in the boat, the men discuss their feelings toward nature. They tend to express anger because they feel that nature has placed them in this situation. The four men want to survive, but they know they will have to swim towards shore because the surf is preventing them from rowing to shore. One night the captain suggests they save their energy so that they can hopefully make the swim towards shore. The boat then capsizes which at this time they must all try to swim in. Three of the four make it ashore and survive, but the one that doesn’t make it isn’t the injured captain but the oiler.
In “The Open...

... middle of paper ...

...& Noble Classics, 2003. 133-56. Print.

Gioia, Dana, and R.S. Gwynn. The Art of the Short Story. New York: Pearson Longman. 2006. Print.

Holt McDougal Literature: Grade 11. Orlando: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print.

Muhlestein, Daniel K. "Crane's THE OPEN BOAT." Explicator. 45.2 (1987): 42-43. Print.

Nagel, James. "The Narrative Method of 'The Open Boat'." Revue Des Langues Vivantes (1973): 409-417. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 70. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.

Spofford, William K. "Stephen Crane's 'The Open Boat'." American Literary Realism 12.2 (Autumn 1979): 316-321. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 70. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

Szumski, Bonnie. Readings on Stephen Crane. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven, 1998. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of 'The Boat, And Simple Recipes' By Alistair Macleod

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reading of “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod is an interesting and sad story that displays many elements figuratively and literally. The first figurative element is the boat. At a literal perspective, the boat is used for fishing and boat rides, although these are not the only things that the boat represents. We learn that the father in some way, as been sacrificing his working life for his family, for something that he doesn’t absolutely love. This shows that he is in some way trapped, or imprisoned. The boat displays

    Read More

  • Themes in The Boat by Alistair MacLeod

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...He is still anchored to his past and transmits the message that one makes their own choices and should be satisfied with their lives. Moreover, the story shows that one should not be extremely rigid and refuse to change their beliefs and that people should be willing to adapt to new customs in order to prevent isolation. Lastly, reader is able to understand that sacrifice is an important part of life and that nothing can be achieved without it. Boats are often used as symbols to represent a journey through life, and like a captain of a boat which is setting sail, the narrator feels that his journey is only just beginning and realizes that everyone is in charge of their own life. Despite the wind that can sometimes blow feverishly and the waves that may slow the journey, the boat should not change its course and is ultimately responsible for completing its voyage.

    Read More

  • Theme Analysis of Killings by Andre Dubus

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.

    Read More

  • Comparing Where Are you going, Where Have You Been and Hills Like White Elephants

    1329 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol.

    Read More

  • Stephen Crane's The Open Boat and Jack London's To Build A Fire

    2312 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Conformity and Rebellion in Two Kinds, by Amy Tan and The Ones Who Walk Away

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Short Stories." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 127. Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2010. 125-388. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. VALE - Mercer County Community College. 28 February 2014

    Read More

  • Prejudice in "King of the Bingo Game"

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    (Sept. 1976): 35-39. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Carol T. Gaffke. Vol. 26. Detroit:

    Read More

  • Imagery And Symbolism In The Open Boat By Stephen Crane

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Open Boat Essay

    1578 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stephen Crane’s story “The Open Boat” concerns four people who are trying to reach land after surviving a shipwreck off of the Florida coast. During the course of the story, they face dangers that are real physical threats, but they also have to deal with trying to make sense of their situation. The characters in this story cope with their struggles in two ways: individually, they each imagine that Nature, or Fate, or God, is behind their experiences, which allows them to blame some outside force for their struggle, and together, they form a bond of friendship that helps them keep their spirits up. .

    Read More

  • Symbolism and Devices in Stephen Crane's The Open Boat

    1931 Words  | 4 Pages

    The struggle for survival by mankind can be found in many different settings.  It can be seen on a battlefield, a hospital room or at sea as related in “The Open Boat”, written in 1897 by Stephen Crane.  The story is based on his actual experiences when he survived the sinking of the SS Commodore off the coast of Florida in early 1897.  “The Open Boat” is Stephen Crane’s account of life and death at sea told through the use of themes and devices to emphasize the indifference of nature to man’s struggles and the development of mankind’s compassion.

    Read More

  • The Life and Works of Richard Wright

    1789 Words  | 4 Pages

    Faulkner, Howard, and Theresa L. Stowell. "Richard Wright." Critical Survey Of Long Fiction, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-9. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Power of Araby by James Joyce

    1923 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... In Teaching Short Fiction 9.2 (2009): 102-108. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Open Boat by Stephen Crane

    1317 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the story "The Open Boat," by Stephen Crane, Crane uses many literary techniques to convey the stories overall theme. The story is centered on four men: a cook, a correspondent, Billie, an oiler who is the only character named in the story, and a captain. They are stranded in a lifeboat in stormy seas just off the coast of Florida, just after their ship has sunk. Although they can eventually see the shore, the waves are so big that it is too dangerous to try to take the boat in to land. Instead, the men are forced to take the boat further out to sea, where the waves are not quite as big and dangerous. They spend the night in the lifeboat and take turns rowing and then resting. In the morning, the men are weak and exhausted. The captain decides that they must try to take the lifeboat as close to shore as possible and then be ready to swim when the surf inevitably turns the boat over and throws the men into the cold sea. As they get closer to land a big wave comes and all the men are thrown into the sea. The lifeboat turns over and the four men must swim into shore. There are rescuers waiting on shore who help the men out of the water. Strangely, as the cook, captain and correspondent reach the shore safely and are helped out of the water, they discover that, somehow, the oiler has drowned after being smashed in the surf by a huge wave. (255-270) “The Open Boat’s” main theme deals with a character’s seemingly insignificant life struggle against nature’s indifference. Crane expresses this theme through a suspenseful tone, creative point of view, and a mix of irony.

    Read More

  • Stephen Crane's The Open Boat

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    There are many lessons one can learn by reading Crane’s “The Open Boat” due to him constructing a microcosm of society. It is unbelievable how authors, especially Crane, are able to use characters and items as symbolism to produce a meaning of a story. Crane was meticulous on choosing the correct names, backgrounds, and descriptions of the characters and items he used in this story. If he would not have paid close attention to these details in his story, it would just be another plain story with no meaning.

    Read More

  • Relationship between the Individual and Nature in The Open Boat

    553 Words  | 2 Pages

    The human voyage into life is basically feeble, vulnerable, uncontrollable.  Since the crew on a dangerous sea without hope are depicted as "the babes of the sea", it can be inferred that we are likely to be ignorant strangers in the universe.  In addition to the danger we face, we have to also overcome the new challenges of the waves in the daily life.  These waves are "most wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall", requiring "a new leap, and a leap."  Therefore, the incessant troubles arising from human conditions often bring about unpredictable crises as "shipwrecks are apropos of nothing."  The tiny "open boat", which characters desperately cling to, signifies the weak, helpless, and vulnerable conditions of human life since it is deprived of other protection due to the shipwreck.  The "open boat" also accentuates the "open suggestion of hopelessness" amid the wild waves of life.  The crew of the boat perceive their precarious fate as "preposterous" and "absurd" so much so that they can feel the "tragic" aspect and "coldness of the water."   At this point, the question of why they are forced to be "dragged away" and to "nibble the sacred cheese of life" raises a meaningful issue over life itself.  This pessimistic view of life reflects the helpless human condition as well as the limitation of human life.

    Read More

More about Stephen Crane's The Open Boat

Open Document