Stephan Cranes “The Open Boat”
Stephan Cranes “The Open Boat” is short stories that will make one appreciate every aspect of life whether it is a tragic misfortune or even a simple head cold. This is illustrated due to the fact in the story nature trains the men in the raft to appreciate what they have and don’t take life for granted. This is made clear when the correspondent says “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, I was allowed to come thus far and contemplate land and trees” (Baym)? After that statement one realizes that the men in the raft are beginning to appreciate nature that they show no attention to. In the story it says “When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples” (Baym). They realize nature cares nothing about them they have to play by the rules of it.
To begin with the characters on the raft are all on a different level when it comes to class and rank in society. The correspondent is the youngest of the four men in the boat and besides the oiler is the most physically able to row the raft. He is the one that shares rowing duties with the determined oiler. One begins to realize that throughout the story the correspondent gains a loving and caring heart for the men, which he feels is a forming brotherhood. Also he is so frustrated with the seven Gods that rule the see he makes rude remarks toward them. this is made clear when the correspondent says “If I am going to be drowned – if I am going to b...
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... and they can be easily forgotten but when one experience something like what the four men in the raft have they begin to love the little things that a seem not existent.
Needless to say nature can be very helpful and generous to man at times. As the man began that nature plays a big part in there meaningless life to it nature begins to give them a little leeway in their journey to find land. “When the men use the captain’s overcoat as a sail, the wind cooperates quite nicely and they make steady progress over the waves without the necessity” (Gibson, Moore). Grace is given when man corporates with the obstacles nature throws at them. Also the crew runs apon a stick that is well needed so the captain could make a signal flag. Nature also showed the correspondent grace when the he was caught in a deadly current and an unsuspected wave frees him from death.
“The sea's only gifts are harsh blows, and occasionally the chance to feel strong. Now I don't know much about the sea, but I do know that that's the way it is here. And I also know how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong but to feel strong. To measure yourself at least once. To find yourself at least once in the most ancient of human conditions. Facing the blind deaf stone alone, with nothing to help you but your hands and your own head.” – Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild
It is true that the voyage down the river has many aspects of a boy’s idyll. We owe much of its hold upon our imagination to the enchanting image of the raft’s unhurried drift with the current, the beauty of the river-all these things delight us...Then, of course, there is humor-- laughter so spontaneous, so free of bitterness present almost everywhere, grim a spectacle
...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.
Written by author Tim O’Brien after his own experience in Vietnam, “The Things They Carried” is a short story that introduces the reader to the experiences of soldiers away at war. O’Brien uses potent metaphors with a third person narrator to shape each character. In doing so, the reader is able to sympathize with the internal and external struggles the men endure. These symbolic comparisons often give even the smallest details great literary weight, due to their dual meanings. The symbolism in “The Things They Carried” guides the reader through the complex development of characters by establishing their humanity during the inhumane circumstance of war, articulating what the men need for emotional and spiritual survival, and by revealing the character’s psychological burdens.
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.
The Seafarer highlites the transience of wordly joys which are so little important and the fact thet we have no power in comparison to God.
The ocean is mysterious to mankind. The unfathomable vastness of the ocean intrigues humanity into exploring it. In life, the immense possibilities that lie in the future compel us to reach for the stars. In the poem “The Story” by Karen Connelly, an individual willingly swims into deep waters even though they are fearful of what may exist in the waters. The swimmer later finds out that their fears were foolish, which illustrates the human tendency to venture into the unknown. The theme conveyed in this poem is that life is like a rough, uncertain, uncontrollable ocean that we must find get through with experience.
... out that nature, although it does impact the men's lives, does not have any connection to the outcome. With his short story, Crane challenges the idea that men and nature are connected spiritually. He even challenges the idea of religion by leaving the outcome of the men simply to the experience that they have. The boat, an oar, and some directions from their captain save the men from death, not a divine guide. One man simply does not make it to the shore alive. The view of man and nature within this story is somewhat pessimistic, pointing to the philosophy that we are hopeless in the face of circumstance. The point Crane makes in the end is that although people are often victims of circumstance, humans have one another to help survive difficult experiences.
The couple in the story is a couple that has been together a long time and persevered through life together. When they first see the whooping cranes the husband says “they are rare, not many left” (196). This is the point in the story where the first connection between the couple and the cranes are made. The rarity of the cranes symbolizes the rarity of the couple’s relationship. Although they have started developing anomalies in their health, with the husband he “can’t smoke, can’t drink martinis, no coffee, no candy” (197) ¬—they are still able to laugh with each other and appreciate nature’s beauty. Their relationship is a true oddity; filled with lasting love. However this lasting love for whooping cranes has caused some problems for the species. The whooping cranes are “almost extinct”; this reveals a problem of the couple. The rare love that they have is almost extinct as well. The wife worries about her children because the “kids never write” (197). This reveals the communication gap between the two generations, as well as the different values between the generations. These different values are a factor into the extinction of true love.
...e story the list of things that the items could actually symbolize continues to grow as O'Brien continues to use symbolism to do this. "The list becomes longer in the end and encompasses the hopes, dreams, and fears that each man carried" (Malone, 1).
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.
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.
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.
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.