"The Open Boat"

Charles So
English 48B
Feb. 8 2011
Journal for Crane

Author Quote:

"He had never considered it his affair that a soldier of the Legion lay dying in Algiers, nor had it appeared to him as a matter for sorrow. It was less to him than the breaking of a pencil's point. Now, however, it quaintly came to him as a human, living thing." (1012)

Internet Quote:

"Critics regard the central themes of “The Open Boat” to be man's eternal struggle against nature, the fragility of human existence, the struggle for survival, and the power of community. The story is viewed as an exploration of human behavior under extreme circumstances and the maturation of man from isolated and indifferent to compassionate and an integral part of society. Symbolically, the boat has been perceived as both a microcosm of society and a vehicle of escape, and the experience on the dinghy as a metaphor for the individual journey to self-knowledge." (E-Notes search Stephen Crane / The Open Boat) 

Summary:

"The Open Boat" scrutinizes the correspondent, who has been isolated away from civil society, and plunged deep into survival, God and nature. At first the struggle between mans survival and nature is the most apparent theme in the work. Although the correspondent at first believe the turbulent sea to be a hostile force set against him, he soon comes to believe that nature is instead ambivalent. In the middle of the ordeal the correspondent through the Algiers soldier poem comes upon, in a manner, spiritual awakening. Through his near death he finds a deeper understanding of life.

Personal Opinion:

At the bottom of page 1001 the argument between the cook and the correspondent is great dialogue. The dialogue gave a good feel and sense of who the characters were in the beginning of the story. I personally found the arguing between the smart ass correspondent and know it all cook in the beginning to be hilarious, as you felt the anger of the correspondent who feels disfortuned and the cook who is optimistically jolly. Through the near death experience the correspondent attains a spiritual sort of awakening as he starts to have revelations about his life. As example was the Algiers soldiers poem in which the correspondent finally felt the soldiers death and weakness. Also the deaths of characters that you can favor such as Maggie from "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and Billy are critical as their deaths for me gives a grim realistic portrayal of life, for Maggie she was a part of a evergoing cycle for women and Billy to me was the uncertainty of life and death.