Literary Criticism of The Open Boat - 1106 Words

The Open Boat by Stephen Crane is a story describing four men that are trapped together in a small boat or dingy. The men aboard the boat are a captain, a correspondent, an oiler, and a cook. The men were aboard a larger boat that crashed off the coast of Florida and are now searching for the safety of a light house they remember. After making a homemade sail and some brisk paddling they finally get near the coast. They spot some people and begin to signal for help but the people only respond with friendly waves. The tide is much too strong to swim to shore so they paddle back out to sea a ways and wait for it to calm. While waiting they get approached by a shark. The large fish circles in such a way that death searches for the†¦show more content†¦The cook represents the follower. He must be told what to do and does not represent a very strong character. However, it is completely necessary to have followers in the world. Without these citizens in the world then t he leaders would have little to lead. He is given the simple job of keeping the water out of the boat. He never takes a turn rowing and when the narrator describes the shifts he shared with the oiler, he tells how the cook sleeps through many different cycles of ships and serves the purpose of keeping the other man warm. Even when evacuating the boat the cook must be instructed by the captain on how to row. From this information we learn that the cook is probably a very ignorant man with little survival skills. The oiler represents the worker or common man. The oiler is the character that best relates to the average citizen. He is a very hard worker and takes direction well. He is the only character that does not lose hope of survival although he is only character that does not survive the journey. The oiler represents strength, heroics, and integrity. The oiler keeps the spirits of the rest of the crew up by example. He never stops rowing or pressing forward. He also rep eats the captain’s orders which help to establish the social order that existed at the time. The four men all represent very different figures in society. It is very important that theShow MoreRelatedA Comparison of Jack London and Stephen Crane.1481 Words   |  6 PagesA Comparison of Jack London and Stephen Crane. Jack London and Stephen Crane were both well-known literary naturalists who died at relatively early ages. Despite having lived such a short life, Jack London lived a full life. He has achieved wide popularity abroad, with his work being translated into more than fifty languages, as well as having written fifty literary works in eighteen years. His stories in the naturalistic mode still continue to influence writers today. Stephen Crane was also anRead MoreThe Open Boat by Stephen Crane Essay1882 Words   |  8 Pages â€Å"The Open Boat† is short tale of endurance, suffering, and redemption. The story focuses on four interesting sailors on a journey towards survival. They try their best to overcome the adversities of the water and raging storm. Crane focuses on the constant struggle of man’s immobility to control his own life. â€Å"The Open Boat† is a nonfictional fiction some call it. It typically is argued as only fiction, but many lean toward its nonfictional quality. Crane wrote the story based off his real lifeRead MoreEssay about Huck Finn1567 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"it was awful to see† (Twain 154). These instances show that the kind—heartedness that Huck displays is not just for one man that he became intimately fond of through continual interactions. In fact when Huck and Jim become separated after their boat was crashed into, â€Å"it [didn’t] occur to him to search for the old Negro† (O’Connor 444). So, while these subtle insinuations and omissions seem to portray Huck as indifferent, altogether they continually serve to illustrate his overall innate goodnessRead MoreAlliteration In Leda And The Swan By Ray Bradbury1852 Words   |  8 Pageswell-known person, place, place, event, literary work, or work of art (Literary Devices). Example: On page fifty-seven of Fahrenheit 451, Beatty says, â€Å"Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it.† The reference to the books Little Black Sambo and Uncle Tom’s Cabin show allusion (Bradbury 57). Ambiguity: is a word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning (Literary Devices). Example: The poem â€Å"Leda and theRead More Mary Shelly Essay examples1564 Words   |  7 PagesMary Wollstonecraft Shelly has written many books in her life. She has received much criticism about one of her books inperticular, Frankenstien. Frankenstein was one of her most famous novels. Shelly had written Frankenstein in order to enter a contest but what few people realized was that Frankenstein was one of many nightmares that Shelly had during her rough childhood. Shelly has become one of the most renowned Gothic authors because of her use of graphic descriptions and settings and herRead MoreTruman Capotes In Cold Blood1591 Words   |  7 Pagesusing traditional literary and rhetorical conventions to expose broader truths concerning humanity as a whole without going astray from the truth (â€Å"Nonfiction Novel†). Capote had long felt that journalism could expose broader truths concerning the human condition that fiction could not, as Capote explains in this excerp t from Inge’s Truman Capote: Conversations: I’ve always had the theory that reportage is the great unexplored art form. I mean, most good writers, good literary craftsmen, seldomRead MoreHigher Ground: Marxism in DeLillos White Noise Essays1839 Words   |  8 Pagesmiddle-aged suburban college professor, it is clear that the overarching obsession with death operates as an inherently bourgeois pathology and ideological apparatus that serves to fuel a capitalist consumer economy. Marxist literary criticism as defined by Peter Barry approaches a literary text through terms introduced in Karl Marx’ and Friedrich Engels’ Communist economic theory. Their jointly written text titled The Communist Manifesto called for a society with â€Å"state ownership on industry†¦ rather thanRead MoreHow Does Literature Shape American Culture?968 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican Literature: Literary or Geometry? How does American literature shape American culture? America, a baby nation compared to many other countries, has shaped itself into one of the most politically and technically advanced places in the world. The definition of American Literature is any literary work written in, or about The United States. The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, The Narrative of the Life of Fredric Douglass and various other works of literature are all pieces of American literatureRead MoreArthur Conan Doyle1279 Words   |  6 Pagesone of Doyle’s teachers in medical school (Dr. Joseph Bell) was a great influence for Holmes’ ability to make intelligent assumptions about people by only looking at them (120). Doyle’s first voyage across the sea was on the Hope, an Arctic fishing boat (Notable British 267). As a ship’s surgeon, Doyle once heard a tale from Fletcher Robinson, a friend of his, about an evil dog that haunted the densely foggy moors of Devonshire (â€Å"The Houndà ¢â‚¬  131). Nevertheless, his career as a doctor never fully cameRead MoreSatire In Herman Melvilles Moby Dick1239 Words   |  5 Pagesone-sided interpretation. Moby Dick portrays many American symbols: the Nantucketer as a new type of hero; the ultimate American legacy, democracy (a political concept which abolishes differences in class and rank), and finally, the Pequod, a whaling boat with sailors from all over the world representing America’s culturally inclusive concept. Melville’s use of satirical strategies allows him to dissociate from the focus of his critique and figuratively disassemble what he thought to be an unscrupulous