Essay on "Stephen Crane's the Open Boat"
Essay 4 pages (1284 words) Sources: 1 Style: MLA
[EXCERPT] . . . .
Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat"Themes of Nature and Fate in Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat"
In the tradition of Melville, Stephen Crane's short story "Open Boat" tells the story of the sea's might and human kind's comparative weakness. By juxtaposing a lighthearted narrator on a perilous situation, Crane further mimics Melville and other nautical writers, acknowledging both the humor and danger of the sea. His story begins with four men in a dingy after the crash of their steamer, the "Commodore" -- the captain, cook, correspondent, and oiler. The four attempt to find rescue on shore, and on the way they encounter situations that cause the reader to debate between laughter and tears or fear. Like an old married couple whose battles and attempts to become superior take on every form, the cook and the correspondent "argued as to the difference between a life-saving station and a house of refuge" (Crane). While debating issues such as the presence of a crew and the life saving efforts that are waiting there for them, all four members of the small boat express their frustrating that no one on shore has seen them yet, only to increase their fading hopes that anyone is there at all. The crew's perilous journey is both through the waves and furies of the sea and the similarly rocky path between hope and resignation, anger with fate and belief in something greater. In fact, these themes run throughout the story. In fact, unlike a great deal of nautical and nature fiction, Crane's themes of fate and the friction between nature and humanity lead to his ultimate suggestion that humans prevail.
Reminiscent of Melville's Mardi, a novel of the sea that contains many
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Thus, the four members of the shipwrecked crew are living an existence that forces them into false hope, when all they feel is despair. This utter contradiction is hard enough on their spirits, without the dire conditions of being alone at sea with only a bucket to bail out their water and equally hopeless men for company. In this way, and the way in which the four men will latter expressly address the issue, Crane emphasizes his theme of fate. Not only do the men remain outwardly hopeful about their own fates, while inwardly resigning themselves to the worst, but as time wares on they directly address fate, blaming it for their present condition and the foolishness with which fate has chosen to kill them. The men wondered:
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… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Stephen Crane's the Open Boat" Assignment:
Story is easily found in public domain or I can email if needed.
Topic for essay:Identify the theme of story and analyze the authors point.
4 pages in length.
How to Reference "Stephen Crane's the Open Boat" Essay in a Bibliography
“Stephen Crane's the Open Boat.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2009, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/stephen-crane-open-boat/9255551. Accessed 5 Oct 2024.
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