Nature’s Kaleidoscope
“None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level, and were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them. These waves were of the hue of slate, save for the tops, which were of foaming white, and all of the men knew the colors of the sea” (Crane 990). The story begins by telling the readers that the men do not know the color of sky, but that they do know the colors of the sea. This particular statement begins the story with the color white which could be symbolizing hope, but in this story it is welcoming the dead to the other side. In the first section of this story, readers learn that 4 men are stranded in a dingy, the waves surrounding them are white, and the waves were a problem for small boat navigation. Not only are the men facing the troublesome waves, the men face a group of seagulls that seem
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to be swarming near them.
The seagulls in this story are used to symbolize human frailty and nature’s indifference to it. As the men continue their journey through the fierce waves, Crane incorporates the use of imagery to describe the nature around them by giving it gloomy colors that are often used to represent death. Toward the end of the story, as the men are still hoping to be rescued, they encounter a shark swimming around the boat that symbolizes that something bad is about to happen. At the end of the story, readers learn that the Oiler, Billie, dies, but if one pays close enough attention to the detail used in this story there is enough evidence to foreshadow the death of one character. In this story, “The Open Boat,” Stephen Crane uses imagery and symbolism through the use of colors and objects in nature to depict the characters lack of power over
their situation and foreshadow death. In the second section of this story, the men are still fighting the aggressive waves when they encounter a group of seagulls. The men told the bird’s to be gone in fear that they might tip the boat if they came any closer, but one decided to land on top of the captain’s head as if the bird was tempting the men to shoo him away again. “The Captain naturally wished to knock it away with the end of the heavy painter, but he did not dare do it, because anything resembling an emphatic gesture would have capsized this freighted boat, and so with his open hand, the captain gently and carefully waved the gull away” (Crane 992). In this line, the men realize that the birds or nature has more power over their situation than they do because they really cannot do anything about it except politely wave the birds away and hope that they fly off. After they finally got the bird to fly off, the men breathed easier, but “the bird struck their minds at this time as being somehow gruesome and ominous” (Crane 992). At this point the men are realizing that there is a deeper meaning to the birds presence and they feel that something bad is about to happen. The groups encounter with the seagulls is the first “progression of thought that leads them to their final realization that nature is all-powerful and could kill them on her whim” (Cassel). Crane used the seagulls to symbolize the men’s lack of power over their situation, human frailty, and nature’s indifference to human weakness. The men realized that they are subject to nature’s desire and can exert minute control over their situation. As the men in the story are sailing through the fierce waves of the ocean, Crane manages to use imagery to describe the nature around them by giving it many gloomy colors ranging from black to white and in between that strengthen a sense of foreboding for the characters as well as the readers. In the beginning, the men are sailing through the foaming white waves, when they come across some seagulls. The birds appeared near and far from the men, but “often they came very close and stared at the men with black beadlike eyes” (Crane 992). This is the men’s first encounter with the color black which often symbolizes death and fear (The Meaning…). As stated earlier, when the birds flew away it appeared to the men that the birds had a significant meaning to their journey and that it wasn’t going to be a good one. After the initial appearance of black with the birds, the men began to see black, gray, and white all around them. Towards the end after the correspondent had seen the shark and passed the rowing to Billie, he came in contact with the color gray, “when he again opened his eyes, the sea and the sky were each of gray hue of the dawning” (Crane 1003). The color gray represents futility and the point in between life and death. More so in this story, the color represents the characters being between life and death and the men are realizing this as they keep sailing on towards the shore in hopes of maybe being rescued. “On the distant dunes were set many little black cottages, and a tall white wind-mill reared above them. No man, nor dog, nor bicycle appeared on the beach. The cottages might have formed a deserted village” (Crane 1003). Here in the story, the crew is realizing that there is no hope in being rescued because the black villages have no life like death. White is also used here in the story and in some cases it represents hope, but not for these men. The white that they see here is over top of the darkness of the empty village and is welcoming them to the other side. Towards the end of the story, Crane mentions a shark swimming around the boat which symbolizes and presents an image through imagery that something bad is about to happen due to them being stuck at sea with no hope of getting rescued. In life when people think about sharks, they are always thought of as deadly and out to get humans and they symbolize that in this story as well. At this point in the story, the men have been overlooked by the people on the shore and are hoping to make it until daylight when the correspondent sees a shark. “There was a long, loud swishing astern of the boat, and a gleaming trail of phosphorescence, like blue flame, was furrowed on the black waters. It might have been made by a monstrous knife” (Crane 1000). As Crane is building up to when the correspondent sees the shark, onomatopoeia and imagery are used to build up the suspense of the purpose of the shark. “While drifting in the ocean, the men are exhausted and there is no light. They have no company other than each other and a shark that continues to circle their small boat. The correspondent, the only one awake, hears nothing but the ocean and the shark’s body hitting the boat.”(Crane, S.). The correspondent isn’t necessarily afraid of the shark; he just wishes someone else was awake to see it. Upon viewing the shark the correspondent wonders why he has come this far just to drown and then recalls a verse he learned as a child about “a solider of the Legion lay dying in Algiers, but he had never regarded it as important… Now, however, it quaintly came to him as a human, living thing” (Crane 1002). The correspondent is realizing and accepting the fact that they may die on this journey and seeing the shark has helped him realize that so he tries to make the most out of the time he has left by trying to row harder and reach shore so that he doesn’t end up like that soldier playing in his mind. In opposition, Evan Luzi states that “Stephen Crane’s story, “The Open Boat” is a perfect piece to examine the naturalistic mode of writing. It contains elements that include a pessimistic tone and external forces that are indifferent to the characters in the story” (Luzi). He says that though the winds, waves, and the sun rising and setting are all influences of nature that play a part in how the men sail through the ocean, they are all indifferent and random. This means that there is no symbolism to these objects in nature, it just lies solely on the fact that “nature is an entity that acts as itself and those who act within it are subject to its randomness and power” (Luzi). Luzi’s article basically states that nature influenced these men and their travels, but that nature wasn’t out to kill them. The nature around them was just doing it’s natural thing and these men happened to be in the line of striking as nature was running its course. In conclusion, throughout Stephen Crane’s story “The Open Boat”, he utilizes imagery and symbolism to foreshadow death. This story is based on an actual occasion that Crane went through which is why there is so much symbolism and imagery used. Crane had witnessed nature’s power, the many colors of nature, and symbols that foreshadow death in his life event therefore he was able to write about it in great detail in this story. In this story particularly, Crane uses objects such as seagulls to depict or symbolize the lack of power that the characters have over their situation and the power that nature has over man. Throughout the whole story, Crane describes nature in a dark and gloomy way to create a sense of fearful apprehension through the use of imagery as well as onomatopoeia. At the end of the story, Crane uses a shark to symbolize death and to remind the men to appreciate their last moments because life could end at any moment. “The four men are always struggling against something; waves, sharks, their muscles, their psyche, their acceptance of a nature they don’t control” (Luzi). Though the men catch on to nature’s signs and accept the fact that they may die, “the characters are always hopeless because they are not agents of free will, but they are puppets to the ocean, winds, and their dingy. These puppeteers of the characters are the external forces that the characters must combat but will ultimately lose to no matter what” (Luzi). Like in this story, nature will always have control over man like a puppeteer has control over his puppets. Although the men knew the colors of the sea, none truly understood the meaning behind nor could they defeat all of nature’s kaleidoscope colors, symbols, and forces that foreshadowed the death of their strong man and friend Billie.
The author shows the reader the sea just as the sailor does as death, but more than death
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
...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.
Within the very first line of the poem, “Light chooses while sails, the bellies of gulls” (Michaels, 1997, p.30), Michaels uses figurative imagery through the metaphor she creates comparing seagull bellies to the appearance of the beach and sails. This line also uses personification, where human traits are given to light when it “chooses” white
Some of the most intriguing stories of today are about people’s adventures at sea and the thrill and treachery of living through its perilous storms and disasters. Two very popular selections about the sea and its terrors are The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and “The Wreck of the Hesperus” by Henry Longfellow. Comparison between the two works determines that “The Wreck of the Hesperus” tells a more powerful sea-disaster story for several different reasons. The poem is more descriptive and suspenseful than The Perfect Storm, and it also plays on a very powerful tool to captivate the reader’s emotion. These key aspects combine to give the reader something tangible that allows them to relate to the story being told and affects them strongly.
Authors use literary elements throughout short stories to give an overall effect on the message they give in the story. In his short story, “Doe Season” by Michael Kaplan, illustrates a theme(s) of the hardships of not wanting to face the reality of death, losing of innocence and the initiation of growing up. Kaplans theme is contributed by symbolism, characterization, setting and foreshadowing.
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.
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.
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. .
The story’s theme is related to the reader by the use of color imagery, cynicism, human brotherhood, and the terrible beauty and savagery of nature. The symbols used to impart this theme to the reader and range from the obvious to the subtle. The obvious symbols include the time from the sinking to arrival on shore as a voyage of self-discovery, the four survivors in the dinghy as a microcosm of society, the shark as nature’s random destroyer of life, the sky personified as mysterious and unfathomable and the sea as mundane and easily comprehended by humans. The more subtle symbols include the cigars as representative of the crew and survivors, the oiler as the required sacrifice to nature’s indifference, and the dying legionnaire as an example of how to face death for the correspondent.
In “The Flowers,” by Alice Walker, the flowers are used throughout the story to symbolize the beauty and naivety of childhood. In the beginning of the story the author shows the main character Myop walking down a path along the fence of her farm. Myop sees “an armful of strange blue flowers with velvety ridges…” The flowers are bright and colorful, reminding the reader of an innocent type of beauty often associated with them. This suggests the flowers were inserted in the story by Walker to reveal how young and innocent Myop appears to be. Later in the story, after Myop had discovered the dead body of a man who seemed to have been hung “Myop laid down her flowers,”. As Myop put down the flowers she was also putting down the last of her innocence.
Crane states that Cook claims there is either a "house of refuge" or a "life-saving station" nearby with one of them having a group to help, and if they can get close enough, they will be rescued. They make their way to a lighthouse and are sure they will be rescued. The author says that they have found dry cigars in the pocket and start to smoke them and drink water from the ocean. Crane says that they did not find anyone at the shore so they went back to sea and began to row soar more. The author experience of being in the boat together creates a strong sense of brotherhood between the men,
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.
Nevertheless, as the weather changed and got better they were happy that the Mariner killed the bird. The shipmates were wrong in supporting the killing of the bird, as the spirits wrath pushed the ship into tumultuous, uncharted waters and the spirits made them face arid conditions which led to dehydration. The shipmates then decide to change their mind again about what happened to the bird and then they confront the Mariner and make him wear the dead bird around his neck.
The novel A Shift in the Light by Patricia Glinton-Meicholas the author shows the importance of family throughout the novel in many different ways such as the symbol of light, culture, values and ethics. The author uses light to symbolize the importance of staying close to your family. She also uses culture to show that the house is mainly male dominated and finally she shows the values and ethics that the children follow by all throughout the novel.