The Open Boat Compare and Contrast Essay

     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 Open Boat” offers a sense of vulnerability in its setting beginning with the title. “Open” is a powerful choice of word, synonyms are vacant, unsheltered, and unsecured, all sounding quite negative. Both stories are located far away from Man’s comfort zone. London mentions “man’s general weakness” from the start. Through out the two stories, the reader watches the men who begin with so much hope lose it as time progresses. The men in the boat, reflecting on how unfair it would be for them to die after all his hard work personifies nature as a “she” as if he sees nature as a motherly figure who is obligated to care for him. “She dare not drown me. She cannot drown me. Not after all this work.” In “To Build a Fire”, the author compares the dog’s feelings to be closer to the truth than the man’s judgment. The finishing line of “The Open Boat” reads, “When it came night, the white waves paced to and fro in the moonlight, and the wind brought the sound of the great sea’s voice to the men on the shore, and they felt that they could then be interpreters.” It is peaceful and makes the reader question, what is it that the men now understand? One could jump to the conclusion that the men now know the truth that could have saved the foolish man in “To Build a Fire” and the oiler, the truth that the dog and the animals knew all along, and the rest of the men on the boat have now been enlightened with. The men know

The Open Boat, written by Stephen Crane is discusses the journey of four survivors that were involved in a ship wreck. The oiler, the cook, the captain, and the correspondent are the survivors that make onto a dingey and struggle to survive the roaring waves of the ocean. They happen to come across land after being stranded in the ocean for two days and start to feel a sense of hope that they would be rescued anytime soon. They began feeling down as they realize nobody was going to rescue them and make an attempt to reach shore. The story discusses an external conflict of man vs nature to help state clearly the central idea. The central idea of the story conveys man’s success against nature when ones’ abilities are combined together to increase the chances of survival. The use of 3rd person limited omniscience and character analysis helps to explain how the journey of the men’s survival to get out of the ocean and reach shore is able to succeed while Stephen Crane uses symbolism to demonstrate the unity created amongst the survivors.

There is also a shark that is “playing around” near the boat; curiously, it does not seem to even acknowledge their presence. The realization that they have no purpose brings them to the brink of despair. In the beginning of the story, the author describes the “dawn of seven turned faces.” These are faces of the “seven mad gods” who are apathetic towards the men; moreover, they are part of nature. Towards the end of the story, the correspondent recalls a childhood verse that helps him to understand nature’s indifference. Through their experience together, the four men realize that all they have is each other. The correspondent feels sympathy suddenly for a dying soldier, one who does not even exist, “The correspondent, …dreaming…was moved by a profound and perfectly impersonal comprehension. He was sorry for the soldier of the Legion who lay dying in Algiers.” Being in the current situation, the correspondent finally understands the tragedy of the dying soldier. He realizes what it is like to be alone in a cruel world and more importantly, he realizes he does not have to be alone. When he first heard the story, he was also indifferent towards the soldier, just as nature is indifferent towards the rest of the world. He now understands what it is to be human. Crane opens a view of reality that first seems bitter, but in the end, stands as

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

The short story “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod is narrated by a man who comes from a fishing family. His mother’s side of the family has forever lived and worked by the sea and continues this tradition. The narrator’s father always wanted to be an academic, but worked on the boat to support his family. Through this passage it is evident that the parents’ characters clash in many aspects of their lives and are in constant conflict. MacLeod demonstrates this through the use of repetition, the contrast in other unrelated ideas, and through information that is withheld.

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

The boat represents the only way of life for the family due to the tradition of it being passed down the family. But the boat can cause disruption throughout the family because it is the center of attention for the family. The author was introduced to the fisherman lifestyle when he was a kid, “when I was very small he took me for my first ride,” (224) which can symbolize the family trying to get the author ready for the future. The mother (whose family passed down the boat) had a strong connection due to growing up with the boat being in her life. The mother put a lot of pressure on the family to stay in the family business and not go elsewhere. When she found out about the daughters leaving, the author said, “she was worried about herself and about her family and her life,” indicating her devotion towards the boat. The daughters were able to find a different path and move away from the boat and so did the son but it wasn't as easy for him. He felt the most pressure being the youngest and the only male in the family next to his father saying, “I would remain with him as long as he lived and we would fish the sea together,” (234) putting the father in a tough spot since he wanted his son to

In the beginning of the Open Boat, the correspondent is portrayed as a hard-bitten character that has seen it all, and believes that no joy can be found in the world. This is hinted in the brief introduction of his character that Crane gives us, “The correspondent, pulling at the other oar, watched the waves and wondered why he was there.” (Crane 1048). We meet this character when he is rowing the boat, something he complains about doing and is shown to detest. “The correspondent wondered ingenuously how in the name of all that was sane could there be people who thought it amusing to row a boat. It was not an amusement; it was a diabolical punishment” (Crane 1052). What the others viewed as a small form of amusement, The correspondent made opposite opinion known when he compared it to “diabolical punishment”, however even though the correspondent has made his hatred known for rowing. He is shown to be willing to do it to the point of exhaustion so he could allow his fellow

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.

Lost at sea in a small boat with waves the size of mountains. Land is no where to be found and help could be days away. Constant thoughts racing through one's mind about if they will sink or swim. From the beginning of the story, as the men had to change boats from their ship to a fairly small rowboat, their hope began to fade. To make matters any worse, a storm began and it brought strong, high waves along with it which overtopped the boat many times during their journey to find refuge and at times, the men thought they were going to die at sea from drowning in the frigid waters.. As they venture the sea, they stumbled upon people that appeared to be waving at them as if they were trying to help. By this point, the men are desperate for any help they can receive and they notice a man waving a coat at them as if he was signaling to the men. The men thought they had found help only to be disappointed that they were only regular people on the beach. As the day progressed and the search for help continued, the narrator said “The man waving a coat blended gradually into this gloom”. The narrator is referring to the man who was waving the coat and how that gave the men

Although there is no land in sight and their supplies are limited, the crew tries to stay positive. Throughout the story, the men are repeatedly offering words of encouragement, trying to reassure each other and keep their minds at ease. Some of the men boast that they are glad that they have an “on shore wind,” and jokingly question what kind of pie the others like. At one point, the captain is described as “soothing his children,” offering them some words of encouragement by saying, “we’ll get ashore all right” (Crane 197). These words help the others remain positive, as the author explains, “But there was that in his tone which made them think, so the oiler quoth: ‘Yes! If this wind holds!’ ” (Crane 197). We can sense that they know the gravity of the situation by the captain’s tone, but they continue to reassure each other. Not only do they mentally support one another, but physically as well. Throughout the experience, they share the burdens and the task of rowing, keeping the boat from capsizing, and staying on the watch at night. The oiler and the correspondent take turns rowing until one loses the ability to continue on, at which point they ask the other, “Will you spell me for a little while” (Crane 206). When the night grows cold, they use one another to keep warm, lying in the bottom of the boat in what is described as a “grotesque rendering of the old babes in the woods” (Crane 207). When people suffer together it creates a bond that makes them stronger, with this rationale often used in the armed forces during boot camp, where the team is forced through challenges and experiences that allow them to become a more effective team. The author describes this precisely by

Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” can be said to be one of the most defined narratives that have ever been published. The narrative, published in 1897, is based on the author’s experience of surviving a shipwreck in a sea while traveling to work as a newspaper correspondent. The author, along with other men, was stranded on a sinking ship after it hit a sandbar. The people aboard were forced to navigate to the shore in a rescue boat. However, one of the men died just before reaching the shore. While it is an emotional story, the narrative has been attributed to its effectiveness in presenting some of the most important aspects of human relationships, a thing that renders it a master class.

So while the Correspondent, after the hope of the life- saving station crashes, realizes the indifference and unconcern of the universe, the captain likewise makes the command to jump clear of the boat and “the other silently acquiesced”(483). Even the Oiler, portrayed so far as the most skilled rower and the one most assured of himself, discards the false expectations and meaningless guesses, for he has also gone through the journey and come to the place where he, like the others, understands that no power but himself and his fellowmen can save themselves. The four boatmen, vocal or not, dead or alive, “could then be the interpreters” (487) of the sea- the Nature- in the end.

After struggling to get back on, everyone agreed to hold on and to not purposely fall off. This plan was going great until the driver shifted in front of a cruise ship, which was now heading towards us. It was pretty far off in the distance, so that if you went straight you most likely wouldn’t hit it… but let 's just say our driver must not have been very experienced, because he had other plans. Holding on for dear life, we swerved all over the place, hitting waves, and bouncing up and down. It was as if the once perfectly smooth blue waters salt had suddenly taken over burning everyone’s eyes and skin. Someone must have given up on holding on, because we heard a faint voice from the ocean that sounded like a scream saying, “WAITTTTTTT…”, until we could no longer hear it over the boats engines and the screaming children back on the shore.