Authored by Steven Crane, The Open Boat is a short story about four men who were stuck following the sinking of their boat. The four men were a oiler, a correspondent, a captain, and a cook. They were struggling to survive because they seemingly did not have hope to survive. The main subject communicated by the author in this story is that humans do not have control over nature. Crane demonstrates a naturalist view by demonstrating the struggle that nature caused the four men. He also demonstrates a realist view by creating a scenario where the reader could relate to.
As a realist, Crane's works to remove exaggerated and genteel conventions from his fiction. He portrays life as it is by creating an image describing a familiar or harsh situation. A good example of realism is the author’s description of sea-tossed men in “The Open Boat.” Seemingly, the men have realized that they are helpless and they could lose their lives by natural phenomena like starvation, wind, current, shark or even a wave. The audience can relate to the circumstances that the four men are in and can understand what it felt like to be exposed to such a harsh environment. In essence, the author succeeded in making the readers live the situation.
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The author’s realism view is expressed in the character of the correspondent. The correspondent character is autobiographical since it represents the author. Crane was once shipwrecked off the Florida coast when working as a correspondent in warfare. The reader can relate to the character of the correspondent as he represents the life experience of the author. The audience has direct access to the correspondent's thoughts. When he realizes that the situation is worsening, the correspondent thought "Am I going to drown? Can it be Possible? Can it be Possible? Can it be Possible?” (Crane, n.d, p. 14). This draws a picture of reality and the audience can tell what was going on in the correspondent's mind. The correspondent understands that there is a possibility that he will drown regardless of the efforts that he and the other men had put to survive. This makes him believe that nature is indifferent to his destiny. The audience can share in his desolation which makes him imagine his death would like that of a French soldier in the poem who died far from his country. The correspondent survives at the end.
Crane expresses a certain form of realism referred to as naturalism. As a naturalist, he addresses the question of whether humans can take control of nature and whether their environments determine their fate. By describing the struggles that men went through in The Open Boat , Crane explains that nature has control over the fate of the four men. A prime example of naturalism is presented by the Oiler. The Oiler is the strongest of the four men as evidenced by his persistence and dedication. He swam faster and ahead of his friends when the boat sunk showing his agility and strength (Crane, n.d, p. 4). From these actions, the audience could tell that he is hardworking and has physical strength. The audience anticipates that he was going to be the first survivor. However, he ended up being the only one who did not survive. This shows that nature is strong and regardless of the strength possessed by man, he cannot control it. Nature determines people’s nature regardless of how strong they are. The shipwreck was an unfortunate ordeal that all the men went through and their fates were determined by nature. The oiler was the strongest of all but he died and the other men were saved by nature.
Reference
Crane, S. (n.d). The Open Boat. Retrieved from https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the-open-boat.pdf
