Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat"

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the four characters of the short story, "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane, and shows how despite the fact that Crane provides only the most elliptical clues about the four men, the reader can understand a great deal about their characters. The paper examines how Crane provides us with clues about how the proximity of danger peels away carefully constructed outer layers of our personalities. This paper also analyzes the ways in which Crane creates a portrait of the sea as a marvelous complex, protean entity, perhaps in this one case the taker of human life, but far more importantly the source of all life.

From the Paper:

"Against this magnificence of the natural world, the men seem diminished. We come to understand that the captain is in general a brave man and not unintelligent he does help bring about their salvation with his suggestion that they use his coat as a sail. But we also understand that he views the sea as an enemy, as a foe to be met and either defeated or be vanquished by. His inability to see the connections among all natural things " himself included " diminishes him. The oiler, whom we come to understand is a man who always follows orders, is a reflection of the captain. He is a man who is good at following orders, and skillful at his craft, but not good at thinking for himself which would have made him an invaluable crewmember but means that he has relatively little to contribute once they are stranded."

More papers on Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat":

• Book Review # 149690 : "Stephen Crane:"The Open Boat" and "Blue Hotel"
• Essay # 90753 : "Stephen Crane's 'The Open Boat'"
• Comparison Essay # 27143 : "The Open Boat" and "The Man with a Flower in his Mouth"

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