“The Open Boat” Research Paper
In the short story “The Open Boat”, Stephen Crane depicts the tale of four crewmen, hours after a disaster that destroyed their ship and left them sailing in treacherous waters aboard a life boat, trying to make it back to shore alive. The characters in the story share the same drive for survival and work beyond exhaustion to achieve their seemingly impossible goal to sail the boat onto a Cuban beach while being assaulted by the forces of nature. The Correspondent, a crewman that shares the task of manning the oars, has his thoughts about nature’s indifference expressed throughout the story. Based on Crane’s own experiences, “The Open Boat” is a survival story about men with maimed spirits in a desperate attempt …show more content…
As one of the most controversial topics of the story, the point of view in “The Open Boat” can be argued with valid evidence to be either 3rd person limited, or 1st person limited omniscient. Many know that Crane himself was the correspondent in the sinking of the U.S.S Commodore, so many conclude that he is crafting the story through his waking experience (Crane, Stephen). Crane’s brush with death and tragedy also could be an influence to writing the story in 3rd person limited. With different passages from the story support the claim, like mentioning an aura-like bond of trust that each man knew was present but no man dared speak of, it has been left to interpretation based on the theme. Some experts support this claim by stating that. “Some of his characters, like the Swede in ‘The Blue Hotel,’ are done in by their preconceived notions, suggesting humanity's radical alienation in a problematic world. Others are more conscious and introspective, like the correspondent in ‘The Open Boat,’ who realizes that the sea, like nature, appears sometimes cruel and deadly, sometimes beautiful and picturesque, and other times stolidly indifferent. All
In the short story “The Open Boat”, Stephen Crane depicts the tale of four crewmen, hours after a disaster that destroyed their ship and left them sailing in treacherous waters aboard a life boat, trying to make it back to shore alive. The characters in the story share the same drive for survival and work beyond exhaustion to achieve their seemingly impossible goal to sail the boat onto a Cuban beach while being assaulted by the forces of nature. The Correspondent, a crewman that shares the task of manning the oars, has his thoughts about nature’s indifference expressed throughout the story. Based on Crane’s own experiences, “The Open Boat” is a survival story about men with maimed spirits in a desperate attempt …show more content…
As one of the most controversial topics of the story, the point of view in “The Open Boat” can be argued with valid evidence to be either 3rd person limited, or 1st person limited omniscient. Many know that Crane himself was the correspondent in the sinking of the U.S.S Commodore, so many conclude that he is crafting the story through his waking experience (Crane, Stephen). Crane’s brush with death and tragedy also could be an influence to writing the story in 3rd person limited. With different passages from the story support the claim, like mentioning an aura-like bond of trust that each man knew was present but no man dared speak of, it has been left to interpretation based on the theme. Some experts support this claim by stating that. “Some of his characters, like the Swede in ‘The Blue Hotel,’ are done in by their preconceived notions, suggesting humanity's radical alienation in a problematic world. Others are more conscious and introspective, like the correspondent in ‘The Open Boat,’ who realizes that the sea, like nature, appears sometimes cruel and deadly, sometimes beautiful and picturesque, and other times stolidly indifferent. All