"The Open Boat," by Stephen Crane, has been critiqued and deconstructed by many thinkers. One such critique is "The Dialogic Narrative of `The Open Boat'." This critique on Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat," was written by two authors: Sura P. Rath and Mary Neff Shaw. The authors focused on a five main points in the duration of this Critique. First Mikail Baktin's theory of the "Five basic types of discourses," are discussed and used in the deconstruction of "The Open Boat." The critique then delves into the use of first-person actor-character to third person spectator-narrator. Shaw and Rath then annotate the tonal quality of "The Open Boat." Fourthly the critique characterizes and analyzes the key figures of the Novel. Lastly the authors unveil the manipulation of the story through setting. The authors are very educated and articulate. They are so much so that this critique is somewhat intimidating to read. I found my self looking up several words in the midst of reading it (capricious and interindividual are just a few). Even through the blaringly obvious educationa...
“The Boat”, narrated by a Mid-western university professor, Alistar MacLeod, is a short story concerning a family and their different perspectives on freedom vs. tradition. The mother pushes the son to embrace more of a traditional lifestyle by taking over the fathers fishing business, while on the other hand the father pushes the son to live more autonomously in an unconstrained manner. “The Boat” focuses on the father and how his personality influences the son’s choice on how to live and how to make decisions that will ultimately affect his life. In Alistair MacLeod’s, “The Boat”, MacLeod suggest that although dreams and desires give people purpose, the nobility of accepting a life of discontentment out weighs the selfishness of following ones own true desires. In the story, the father is obligated to provide for his family as well as to continue the fishing tradition that was inherited from his own father. The mother emphasizes the boat and it’s significance when she consistently asked the father “ How did things go in the boat today” since tradition was paramount to the mother. H...
I used the criticism/formalism lens on the chapter Speaking of courage, you can find the deeper meaning of the text using this lens. When analyzing this chapter we can see the irony of him not actually speaking. Also when we analyze this chapter we can identify the symbolism of Norman almost winning the silver star and we can recognize the symbolism of Normans ex-girlfriend and friend. After reviewing Speaking of Courage we have now found the deeper meaning that Tim O’Brien had focused on in the chapter that we would not have noticed without analyzing using the criticism/formalism lens.
Joyce Carol Oates' message of life and transitions is best understood when the reader brings his or her interpretation to meet with the author's intention at a middle ground. This type of literary analysis is known as Reader Response. In Reader-Response, the emphasis is placed on "the idea that various readers respond in various ways, and therefore [the] readers as well as authors 'create' meaning" (Barnet, et. al. 1997). In this story of life passages and crucial events, it is imperative that the reader has a solid response to Oates' efforts in order to fully comprehend the message. Literature is a combined meeting between the intentions of the author and the reaction of the reader.
Rich, Adrienne. “Diving into the Wreck” The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2013.1010-1012. Print.
Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reeseman, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
...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.
Wolford, Chester L. "Stephen Crane." Critical Survey of Long Fiction. Ed. Frank N. Magill. English Language Series. Vol. 2. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Salem Press, 1991.
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.
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 main characteristic of the new literary form of the novel according to Ian Watt is "truth to individual experience" (4) and its new shape is created by a focus on the individual character. He is presented in a specific definition of time and space. The second section of this paper will show how far this is realized in both of the novels. In the third section I want to analyze the characters' individualism in connection with the claim to truth and their complexity in description.
Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle G. Labor, Lee Morgan, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. 5-6. Print.
Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 125-156.
Crane draws his readers into the story with tone by placing the reader into the same frame of reference as the characters. In "The Open Boat", the beginning focuse...
Consequently, one can broach a series of querries about literature and the nature of literary theories : what is literature ? What is the novel and what is its function ? And finally, to what extent does criticism affect the quality of literature ? This welter of questions is nothing but the tip of the ice berg.
In the short story Eveline by James Joyce, the author challenges the morals of a young woman torn between desire and familial obligation. Joyce manipulates the theme of reflection as a tool for Eveline to make a life altering decision of staying in the comfortable atmosphere where she confined and controlled by her father and her boss, or to run off to the unknown with a man who loves her and offers her a life of security. This essay will analyze and explain the deixis, cohesion, process and participant type, discourse types and narrative structure in the text that enhance the emotion effect of the story.