preview

Realism In Gasie, Henry James And Abraham Cahen's The Open Boat

Decent Essays

Realism, the era after Romanticism, was a time when authors realised that the world wasn’t as beautiful as the words they were using. Authors like Mark Twain, Stephen Crane, Ambrose Bierce, Henry James and Abraham Cahen were some of many very famous realist writers that understood the kind of world they lived in. These authors became popular shortly after the civil war, which gave a bleaker outlook on the world. It was suddenly more noticeable that humanity can’t control the world around them and that the smallest differences of each other can cause conflicts. People’s actions and beliefs were also often questioned or the flaws were criticized. Realists focused on the issues of humankind, including the fact that they can’t manage how the world works, the problems of religion and the struggles of difference. After Romanticism’s painting like writing showing the beautiful connection of people and nature, Realism proved the point that humanity has no control over nature nor that nature is affected by people. In the story “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane, four men (The Captain, The Cook, the oilier- named Billie and the Correspondent) are stranded at sea in a small lifeboat. Working together, the men try to seek help only to fail time after time again. After a while the men become angry and accuse the universe for being too cruel to them on purpose and want to punish the universe. The narrator later explains that the universe does not think of them as important and they

Get Access