Analysis of The Open Boat by Stephen Crane
Story: “The Open Boat,” 1897
Author: Stephen Crane (1871-1900)
Central Character: There is no real central character in this story. All the men on the boat are spoken about more or less equally and no prominent character jumps out at the reader as being the central character. Although more emphasis is put onto the correspondent, and Billie the oiler.
Other Character: The cook: bails water from boat. Billie the oiler: steers and rows boat, is the only of the men that does not make it alive to land. The correspondent: Also helps steer and row boat. Injured captain: gives commands to the crew as he lies against the water-jar speaking with a low and calm voice. Unnamed people on land: Coat swinger, naked man, etc.
Setting: A 10 foot dinghy floats upon a rowdy ocean near the coast of Florida in January in the late 1800’s. It seems that everything on the sea is grey weighing heavily on the feeling of the men. There is a tired and frustrated feelings among the men as they want to leave the boat and return to land, although, Billie and the cook provide some humor when referring to the blasted oars and to pie.
Narrator: The author, 3rd person, omniscient point of view.
Events in summary: (1) Four men have survived from a sunken steamer and are stuck in a 10 ft steamer out at sea some where near the coast of Florida.(2)The Injured captain lay over the water-jar giving orders to the correspondent and Billie the oiler letting them know how to steer and row the boat. The crew makes its way to Mosquito Inlet light where they believe that there will be a house of refuge. (3) Seagulls taunt the crew, one in particular trying to land on the captain’s head. This kills the crew’s optimism about the wind blowing ashore. The oiler and the correspondent continue to row switching off when the other is tired. (4) The captain then spots a lighthouse on the horizon, like a small dot. The captain decides to use his jacket and an oar to make a sail to let the men rest. No one spots the boat and they find it curious, assuming that no one must be looking out the window out to the sea. They deicide to got back to sea to avoid the risky surf. (5) The wind dies down and the men spot some more people on the shore. There is a van or a boat of some sort, and a man that is swinging his coat. They don’t actually try to help the crew they just ...
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... sit comfortably in groups on the water while the sea tries to attack the men. The shark finds no use for the men, the correspondent views the windmill as a symbol of nature in that it is neutral and unconcerned by the men’s destiny sitting on the lonely shore. The characters can be studied through their relationships to their surroundings. The correspondent remembers a rhyme from his childhood, and he feels pity for the dying soldier mentioned in that verse. This verse never seemed important to him before, but now being menaced my nature and being alone in the cruel world he understands the soldiers situation.
Evaluation: I enjoyed this story, because it had many different kinds of criticism that could be applied to it. Especially that of biographical criticism because it based off at true story that actually happened to the author himself. It was also nice to see the characters grow, as friends and as men. I also really enjoyed the style of writing and the use of similes, imagery, and detail. These really painted a picture in my head.
Works Cited
Crane, Stephen. “The Open Boat.” An Introduction to Fiction. X. J. Kennedy, Dana
Gioia. New York: Longman 2005.215-233.
In my eyes I loved the book I rate it a 9/10, its had a good twist and turn to it. I loved this
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have chosen it for my report. Finally, I will give my reactions to the novel
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.
I found the book to be easy, exciting reading because the story line was very realistic and easily relatable. This book flowed for me to a point when, at times, it was difficult to put down. Several scenes pleasantly caught me off guard and some were extremely hilarious, namely, the visit to Martha Oldcrow. I found myself really fond of the char...
There are four men stranded on a boat who are introduced in the beginning of the story. The cook, the oiler, the correspondent, and the captain are all on a boat that "a man ought to have a bath tub larger than" (360). As the men fight the crest of each wave they encounter, it is obvious that this is a desperate situation. Showing their powerlessness the narrator describes a group of birds as sitting ."..comfortably in groups, and they were envied by some in the dinghy, for the wrath of the sea was no more to them than it was to a covey of prairie chickens a thousand miles inland" (363). Even though the men are in grave danger, the sun rises and sets and a shark even swims by but seems to have no need for the men in the boat. The men even believe that the waves are harsh on them and want to capsize the boat. The narrator explains that "[the waves were] nervously anxious to do something effective in the way of swamping boats" (361). Even though it is obvious that the ocean always has waves, it is hard fo...
All three narrators are also solitary figures. The two new captains are isolated by virtue of their position; they cannot become intimate with their men without the risk of losing their respect, and Marlow is culturally isolated in the African jungle.
The reading of “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod, and “Simple Recipes” by Madeleine Thein, both display many components that draw attention to different family dynamics, as well as how each member is tested when if comes to love.
Crane, Stephen. “The Open Boat.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature, Eighth Edition, volume C. Ed. Mary Loeffelholz. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2012. 990-1006. Print
There were not many major characters in this movie, but all played an important roll to the subject matter. Jimmy Morris was the main character, a young man, about 30 years old with a wife, three children, and a career as a chemistry high school teacher and baseball coach. His high school baseball team was the inspiration to him helping to achieve his goal of wanting to be a major league baseball player. Lori Morris, Jimmy’s wife, Hunter was his only young son who adored his father, and two young daughters Jessica, and Jamie. Jimmy’s father who was a military man played a minor part in the movie but, was the reason for a major controversy in the main character’s life.
John Riggs risked not only his body and health, but his also his life, in order to save his family. Nearing a July evening dusk, a massive, unexpected storm rolled into the Chesapeake Bay, taking a turn for the worse for everyone aboard Riggs boat. With the "...water pouring over the stern" (Spitznagel, Eric), they eventually flipped over and the boat capsized. Riggs, realizing that it would be impossible for anyone to find them that late at ...
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 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.
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.
Morehouse sent a boarding party to the ship. Below the decks, the ship’s charts had been tossed about, and the crewmen’s belongings were still in their quarters. The ship’s only lifeboat was missing. Three and a half feet of water was splattering in the ship’s bottom, though the cargo of industrial alcohol was still mostly there. There was a six-month supply of food and water—but no one to consume it.