Literary Techniques Used In Stephen Crane's The Open Boat

Even though the oiler suffered on his journey on the open boat all of the characters were victims of life’s unfortunate and twisted series of events. These four men have possibly gone through a shipwreck that left them stranded in the middle of the ocean without any tools for survival aside from a small dinghy. This event in itself is unfortunate enough, but for these men it is barley the beginning. They endure rough seas, fatigue and endless rowing alongside several other complications during their desolation at sea. Nearing the end of the story a large and furious wave completely runs

In the beginning of The Open Boat, the author Stephen Crane displays a wide variety of imagery. The first chapter is about several men who get stranded on a deserted island. While their ship is in the process of crashing into land, Crane describes the cruel waves. "The horizon narrowed and widened, and dipped and rose, and at all times it's edge was jagged with waves that seemed thrust up in points like rocks". With much hesitation, Crane subtly foreshadows the future events.

Undoubtedly, Stephen Crane’s Open Boat’ is regarded as one of the finest and most intriguing short story written by an author with a naturalistic point of view or perspective. Stephen sets up the story based on his real life experience thereby bringing out the intrinsic reality to his audience using symbolism, poetry, and imagery. Perhaps the most intriguing naturalistic approach of ‘the Open Boat’ is the way Stephen expresses the themes in the short story with an ironic twist regarding the vastness of the universe and the insignificance of man. As such, Stephen Crane’s short story, The Open Boat, is a true depiction of the tag of war between the unpredictable cosmic universe and man exposing the themes of determination for survival, mortality, friendship, with an exquisite touch of other devices such as poetry, symbolism or imagery, and tone. This paper aims at dissecting this subject matter through a detailed analysis of the plot created throughout the novel.

At the end of “The Cranes”, the author paints a picture of resolution in the car. The older couple, having made up their mind to end their lives together, make their final preparations in drastic calmness. The wife seems to have a few concerns about their decision, but takes comfort in her husband’s steadfast determination. The end of the story shows the woman closing her eyes one final time as she remembers, for one last minute, a scene from their past. Suddenly, the cranes outside the car shoot upward into the sky, presumably in response to a gunshot that startles them.

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.

Stephen Crane’s ideas varied from those of Twain and Ambrose as shown in his short story, “The Open Boat.” In the story, the crewmates of a diminutive boat are caught in a storm. This is clearly more depressing than the stories of the other two authors cited but it also sanctions nature to play a substantial role. In naturalism, nature often acts as a force that humanity cannot control. The storm represents Crane’s belief in

The Open Boat by Stephen Crane is a story describing four men that are trapped together in a small boat or dingy. The men aboard the boat are a captain, a correspondent, an oiler, and a cook. The men were aboard a larger boat that crashed off the coast of Florida and are now searching for the safety of a light house they remember. After making a homemade sail and some brisk paddling they finally get near the coast. They spot some people and begin to signal for help but the people only respond with friendly waves. The tide is much too strong to swim to shore so they paddle back out to sea a ways and wait for it to calm. While waiting they get approached by a shark. The large fish circles in such a way that death searches for the

     Although the men are pitted against an uncaring sea, they still at this point seem to think their destinies are controlled by some outside force. Their collective thoughts are given: '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, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees?...If this old ninny-woman, Fate, cannot do better than this, she should be deprived of the management of men's fortunes.'(6) It soon dawns on them, though, that there is no 'fate,' no purpose for their being where they are. It is the realization of this fact that brings the men to the brink of despair: 'When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples.'(6) It seems to them that their

The men came to the conclusion that “fate” must be the reason that they are experiencing this deathly situation. It is the understanding of this fact that brings the men to the edge of their misery. At this point the men feel like their lives are coming to an end, so much so that they even ask the captain if they have a chance at survival, to which the captain replies "If this wind holds and the boat don't swamp, we can't do much else." This quote shows the uselessness that the men feel, but it also makes apparent there is still a possibility of hope.

The Open Boat is a tragic tale by Stephen Crane of four men contemplating what seems like their inevitable death. This paragraph above serves as a quality passage on its own and as an interesting part of the entire story as the author repeats it often. The text is a beautiful paragraph, perhaps the most flowery writing in the entire work. Lines such as "to nibble the sacred cheese of life" and "name of the seven mad gods who

“The Open Boat” is short tale of endurance, suffering, and redemption. The story focuses on four interesting sailors on a journey towards survival. They try their best to overcome the adversities of the water and raging storm. Crane focuses on the constant struggle of man’s immobility to control his own life. “The Open Boat” is a nonfictional fiction some call it. It typically is argued as only fiction, but many lean toward its nonfictional quality. Crane wrote the story based off his real life experience of a shipwreck he tragically endured. The Commodore, the name of the ship, was the victim of the waves and Crane just so happened to be one of its friends. He wrote 2 articles based on this tragedy, but “The Open Boat” became the best

Symbolism allows writers to suggest their ideas within a piece of literature. This is found in most types of writing. Stephen Crane expresses this in his short story, The Open Boat. Through symbolism and allegory, it is demonstrated that humans live in a universe that is unconcerned with them. The characters in the story come face to face with this indifference and are nearly overcome by Nature’s lack of concern. This is established in the opening scenes, the “seven mad gods” and in the realization of the dying soldier. The descriptions that Crane uses in the opening scenes illustrate nature’s lack of concern for their tragedy. He discusses the waves in the ocean that continually roll and crest. The waves are problems or

Style: One thing that Crane has been known for is his use of imagery and similes in his writing. His use of Imagery and detail bring a repeating setting like the ocean, more to life. The reader is able to form a vivid picture in their mind with the Crane’s use of adjectives and

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