The Open Boat Essay

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

“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.

Symbolism allows writers to suggest their ideas within a piece of literature. This is found in most types of writing. Stephen Crane expresses this in his short story, The Open Boat. Through symbolism and allegory, it is demonstrated that humans live in a universe that is unconcerned with them. The characters in the story come face to face with this indifference and are nearly overcome by Nature’s lack of concern. This is established in the opening scenes, the “seven mad gods” and in the realization of the dying soldier. The descriptions that Crane uses in the opening scenes illustrate nature’s lack of concern for their tragedy. He discusses the waves in the ocean that continually roll and crest. The waves are problems or

"The Boat" by Alistair MacLeod is the story told from the perspective of university teacher looking back on his life. The narrator relates the first memories of his life until his father's death. The story focuses on the conflicting relation between the mother and the father, and their different perspectives on how their children should lead their lives. MacLeod uses features of setting to present the tension between tradition and freedom.

Thoughts of drowning run rampant in every man’s mind on that boat. At dawn, the men decided that their only chance is to row toward the distant shore again and swim when the boat finally capsizes.

The Oiler, being a strong workingman, rows the small dinghy with dedication and persistence barley resting and always alert, he rows persistently ignoring his exhaustion. The Oiler also showed his strength and agility when he swam faster and ahead of all his companions after the boat swamped. Through his actions the reader can plainly identify the Oiler as a physically strong man and a very hard worker. Despite all of the Oiler’s advantageous physical attributes he ultimately drowns and dies. The Oiler’s death comes to show how even the strongest men, in this case the Oiler, are no match for nature. No matter how strong a man is nature will always determine his utmost fate. This is one of the strongest concepts of naturalism and in “The Open Boat” the Oiler’s actions and death demonstrate this.

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

2. Suppose a customer buys an iPhone from Apple for $500 on January 1, 2010. The cost of the iPhone to Apple is $350. Assume that the customer is entitled to upgrades over the next two years. Use the following financial statement effects template (FSET) to illustrate the financial statement impacts for Apple of the customer's iPhone purchase on the date of the initial purchase and at the end of each of the two years following the initial purchase under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Topic:'Terry says to Charley, "I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody instead of a bum. Which is what I am". Does the film support Terry's judgement of himself?

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.

We think that daily spot hire rate will likely decrease next year. There are two reasons. First, there are 63 new vessels scheduled for delivery in 2001 to increase the supply of vessel and only few old vessels need to be retired, while the demand will not increase because imports of iron ore and coal would remain stagnant over next two years. Second, exhibit 5 shows that avg. spot rate of 2000 was higher than the rate of previous years and avg. 3-yr charter rate. In addition, the market will seemingly go up after two years. Therefore, ship owners should hope to sign short-term contract through using lower daily spot hire rate rather than locking low daily high rate for a long period.

“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane is a short story included in The Norton Introduction to Literature. In it, we embark on the journey of four men, whose ship has sunk and are now adrift. The characters fight for survival throughout the whole tale, trying to withstand nature. As the story passes, they realize that nature is indifferent and uncaring. Moreover, they begin to question the existence of God. Ultimately, three of the men survive and one of them dies. Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” shows the struggle of men attempting to understand nature and desiring to survive against this invincible and indifferent force. I will analyze literary elements of character, plot, and symbol, using Literary Naturalism to demonstrate this constant conflict between man and nature that plays out in “The Open Boat.”