The Open Boat

There are many aspects that go into making a piece of work an enjoyable story. Stephen Crane used elements like narration, setting, and character to make “The Open Boat” a classic piece of literature. These key elements help to create symbols and a common theme that makes the short story the classic that it is today.

Humanity often tends to see itself as being somehow important in the grand scheme of the Universe. We speak of 'fate' as if we were put here for some reason, or purpose. We have our religions, which often serve as an engine to drive our lives and as a means to give meaning to them. But why do we think of ourselves in such a superior fashion? Do we really matter at all? Would the Universe stop if we were suddenly taken away? In his short story, 'The Open Boat,' Stephen Crane shows us a Universe totally unconcerned with the affairs of humankind; it is an indifferent Universe in which Man has to struggle to survive. The characters in the story come face to face with this indifference and are nearly overcome

“[A] manner or technique of treating subject matter that presents, through volume of detail, a deterministic view of human life and actions.” (dictionary.com) Naturalism is defined as a word and type of literature Crane uses in the novella, Maggie. In order to avoid proper names along with pronouns in specific scenes, Crane uses a naturalistic device as a tendency. This throws the reader off-balance conveying a pure( documentary explanation. In this naturalistic work of literature, there is an unusual occurrence where the appearance of Maggie seems as if it's a miraculous event. Someone outside of nature. (“Death is treated...”)

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

Stephen Crane: “The Open Boat” Being stranded at sea in a small boat is a frightening thought. The Open Boat by Stephen Crane is a short story that will have the reader in suspense, wondering what will happen next. The Open Boat takes place in a small boat on the open sea, with four men working together to survive. These four men fight their way through rough tides, hunger and thirst. ” These waves were most wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall, and each froth-top was a problem in a small-boat navigation”(Crane 195).

The relevant outgrowth of American realism, another relatable writing tendency derived in 1880s. Similar as the purport of realism, Naturalism detailed theto suggest that social heredity and the environment had an inevitable effect in shaping human characteristic (Elliot 497). It opposed to literacy movements in the early period, such as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects receive highly symbolic, idealistic disposition. However, naturalism contained relatively passive and obscure view of the world. Unlike the realism, it focuses more on literary technique, which insinuated a philosophical position: the human beings are considered as "human beasts" (Elliot 502). By utilizing a version of the scientific method to illustrate the surrounding, naturalism writers construct the laws behind the forces that govern human lives, which could be studied and understood by the audience. From the naturalism literature, nature was sculptured as an indifferent force acting in the lives of human beings (Elliot 507). The universe, typically, has been described as

2. What qualities distinguish practitioners of “naturalism” from practitioners of “realism” as a general movement?

14. What is meant by the term “naturalism”? Describe the use of “naturalism” in literature. “Naturalism” can be thought of as a form of realism, or as an alternate to it. In literature “Naturalism”, unlike the realists for whom human beings distinct themselves within familiar settings, wrote about human life as it was formed by forces beyond human control (Baym

Out of the four main characters, the oiler worked the hardest at keeping the boat going towards the shore. The captain, who was injured by the shipwreck, could contribute very little to the cause of survival. Even though the oiler worked the hardest, he did not make it to shore with the rest of them men. Crane’s work shows that no matter how hard one works he or she is only reacting to the forces that change their life. The pessimistic view that naturalist authors shared was that someone could work very hard to overcome his or her destiny; however, he or she was still subject to heredity and nature’s fate for his or her life. Crane also posited that, in the end, nature will have its say in how and what happens in an individual’s

Naturalism is about bringing humans into the “natural world”. We, as humans, are seen as aspects of nature collectively not separate like they once were. “Naturalism holds that everything we are and do is connected to the rest of the world and derived from conditions that precede us and surround us. Each of us is an unfolding natural process, and every aspect of that process is caused, and is a cause itself ” (“A Guide for Naturalism”). Humans are like “animals” they contain the same drives that animals have. They are just plain “natural”. Many authors express naturalism in their writings such as Kate Chopin. She expresses a naturalistic view on sexual drives which classify her as a

Naturalism - A literary movement that related to realism and saw the scientific aspect of humans. It also depicted hereditary and uncontrollable factors of the environment.

In terms of style, naturalism is an extreme or heightened form of realism. Naturalistic dramas generally follow guidelines created by Aristotle, the Greek philosopher. These

Naturalism emphasized biological and/or sociological determinism and viewed the behavior of people as being conditioned by forces outside their control. The term naturalism describes a type of literature that attempts to apply scientific principles of

The critique then goes on to discuss the use of first person-actor to third person spectator-narrator. This refers to Crane's narrative strategy of switching between the two through out "The Open Boat." As Rath and Shaw state, this is important because of Crane's first person experiences with shipwrecks and empathy

Naturalism’s main attraction to the American people was due to the timeframe in which it introduced its morals and themes to the population. The repugnant forces and perplexing relationships in life are represented through naturalist literature. Plots in literary naturalism follow a prominent decline. These plots often elaborate a character's general worsening. Naturalist stories tend to be written in an omniscient third person point of view. This format presents an objective tale of a main