Jonathan Harrison February 13, 2009

Stephen Crane

"Commodore's lifeboats were lowered in the early hours of the morning on January 2, 1897 and the ship ultimately sank at 7 a.m. Crane was one of the last to leave the ship in a 10-foot (3.0 m) dinghy. In an ordeal that he would recount in the short story "The Open Boat", Crane and three other men (including the ship's Captain) floundered off the coast of Florida for a day and a half before attempting to land the dinghy at Daytona Beach. The small boat, however, overturned in the surf, forcing the exhausted men to swim to shore; one of them died"

This quote is significant for it directly mimics the tragedy depict in "The Open Boat." Crane must have come out of this ordeal a changed man, for it is imposable to live through such an extreme situation without a change in one's self occurring. Its really remarkable that he faced the tragedy he wrote about in his story head on in real life, and is a reminder to us all of how short and cherished life really is.

"The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane, was a real life tale about four men who are stuck on a dingy after their ship has sunk. These men float aimlessly along while taking turns rowing, in hopes of finding land. The men drift for a couple of days until they reach the coastline where there journey continues on in agony. The men are teased by a man on the beach who is twirling his jacket around vigorously, to their dismay, instead of actively pursuing a rescue attempt. The men ponder for a while their cruel fate of being brought so close yet so far from their salvation, until being forced into action by means of the dingy sinking. The four men proceed to jump off the boat and make a swim for land. Three of the men are successful in reaching this goal, but tragically the oiler dies in an attempt to save the other three. The story ends with the three men being given blankets and food, but the dire situation that these men had just endured was forever ingrained into their memories.

"The Open Boat" has such a tremendous impact on readers by the simple fact that it is the retelling of an actual true event. The Naturalism is almost forced upon the reader for one feels as though he too is stuck in that horrible little dingy. One can get a real sense of the bond, in which Crane describes, that these men have for each other as they each take turn rowing the boat, unless injured, and they console each other on a regular basis. An example of this fact is that everybody takes refuge in the calmness that the captain displays. He realizes this and never relinquishes his duty as captain and this act gives the situation a feeling of being normal, which in turn provides the crew with a sense of relief from this heavy burden. The bond that is represented in this story grow even stronger with the fact that the oiler sacrifices his life in order to save the others. This positive outlook on humanity, for how else could such a selfless act be committed, is a new and more optimistic view that Crane has undoubtedly come up with after being through this situation himself. "The Open Boat" is an intense view at the positive side of human nature and the incredible endurance in which it is held.