The Perfect Storm Literary Analysis

In life, does one have the ability to control their own destiny or are they controlled by some predetermined path that was meant for them? This idea of being controlled by an inevitable result is called fate. Many pieces of literature raise questions on the idea of fate and if it exists. Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” In The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger, six-crew members on board the Andrea Gail from Gloucester, Massachusetts in hope of swordfish along Nova Scotia find themselves in many weather phenomenas colliding and an ensuing massive storm. The novel hints the question of if fate exists and the reader is given an answer. The author's treatment of the idea of the idea of fate complements …show more content…
Towards the crews final day, this is realized when it says, ¨There's not much they can do at this point but head into the storm and hope they don't take any more big waves (141).¨ From all the disruptions that weather had already, which included a broken window, freezer, and radio, the crew finally agrees they might as well follow their fate. The fact that many factors of the storm sent a foreboding mood means that tragedy was bound to happen. Just take the description of the storm, “Meteorologist see perfect in strange things, and the meshing of three completely independent weather systems to form a hundred-year event is one of them. My God, thought Case, this is the perfect storm.” This description is one nobody can overcome and therefore it seems it is inevitable that the crew will die. Here, the author brought up the idea of fate through the conflict of man versus nature. By doing this, the author creates uneasiness in the reader. This makes the book easier to understand through the chain of events that make the reader expect the ending. In comparison to the other situation, the author suggests fate is real due to multiple natural obstacles the crew failed to