The Open Boat and Other Tales of Adventure - Coursework Example

The Open Boat In his book “The Open Boat”, Stephen Cranes displays the emotions and actions of four men at the sea facing death. The storyline exists in an unorganized and incapable world presenting meaninglessness. Despite the four men efforts to stay alive, they encounter false hints of rescue and hope. The boat bears no truth for them, and the situation at sea seem to suggest that there is nothing to definitely know. The four men suffering and toil are not rewarded. The Oiler, Billie, is the only one who does not succeed in the rush to the shore. He also happens to be the hardworking and noblest among the four characters. Through the natural setting of the sea as the location of the short story, Crane tries to highlights man’s conflict with nature, which is not concerned with the desires of human or their action. This conflict tends to give the men an assumption that they now understand existence. The story is based on Stephen Cranes’ real experiences in 1897. Cranes was stranded at the sea after his ship sank off in the coast of Florida while travelling to Cuba to work as a respondent for a newspaper. Cranes and other three men navigated their way to shore, but one (an Oiler, Billy Higgins) drowned. From Cranes introduction of the characters in the first section and throughout the story, the four men display different personalities and traits. The four men represent archetypes that constitute the universal community; an average person (the Correspondent), an ideal person (the Oiler), a follower (the Cook), and a leader (the Captain). The Correspondent The Correspondent is the central character and the reporter in the story. He is the doubting Thomas in the story’s script. From Cranes’ introduction and description of the men’s duties, the Correspondent is presumably able-bodied and young as he takes turns with the Oiler to row the dinghy. As his reporting profession suggests, the Correspondent takes the role of the voice and eye of the story. Cranes highlights this role while introducing the characters to the reader. He writes; ‘as the Oiler is working on his oar and the Cook cowering on the floor, the Correspondent is observing the waves and silently wonders why he is stranded in the ocean. This question reveals to the readers the Correspondents search of purpose in his life, and ultimately shapes the readers’ perception of the ordeal facing the four men at sea. The first five sections of the story reveal the Correspondent’s desire to understand the reasons why they survived the ship to only sink in the dinghy. He associates the challenges at the sea to nature and fate, despite his understanding that they do not think or reason like humans does, and provokes them, as he strongly believes that nature has a purpose, which seem to command his struggles. His search for purpose seems to bear fruit when the four men form a subtle relationship of brotherhood as a result of nature’s cruelty. He acknowledges the pains of their struggle at sea but consoles himself with the belief that the pain caused is a byproduct of his efforts in the community that they have created due to nature’s force. On the men’s realization that no one is going to save them, the Correspondent loses hope in the brotherhood, which he had seen as the reward for their suffering and struggle at the sea. The Captain The Captain symbolizes the consummate leader of the group. He never neglects his responsibility for those that put their safety and trust on him. After the ship sinks, the Captain suffers more than the other men. He becomes a broken man after losing the only thing that grants him authority in the group. Despite his sense of loss and failure as the leader, the Captain retains his dignity by guiding the men to their safety. Through his guidance efforts, the Captain establishes a tragic and majestic figure. He symbolizes a leader who dose not measure up to the set standards but continues to assist and fight for his followers. The Captain’s steady and quite efforts are not self motivated. They are directed towards the redemption of the entire group. The Cook From Cranes description, the Cook is overweight and dressed sloppily. Later in the book, the reader becomes aware of his talkative nature, as he engages in a pointless debate with the Correspondent about the on the like hood of being seen by rescuers or locating the refuge house on the shore. The Cook maintains a naive and positive outlook in the men’s hope of rescue. He is the first to suggest the existence of a life saving station near the sea shore, and is overwhelmed by the thoughts of the pleasures of living on the land, like eating his favorite dishes of pies and meats. At large, the Cook is not useful to the group as he is not physically fit to row the dinghy and gets busy by emptying the water in the lifeboat. The Cook is a dreamer and a romantic, clinging to his desires even at the sight of death. The Oiler, Billie Billie, the Oiler, is the only one that dies in the attempt to reach land. He is obedient, staunch, generous and polite to the Correspondent and the other men in general. From his roles and actions in the story, the readers realize that he is the most realistic of the men. He never loses focus of his tasks. The Oiler represents the ideal man. He is the most hardworking and noblest of the four men. He holds the group together through his heroic acts. He is physically not scared about the whole suffering at the sea like the other men, and never gives in to the hopelessness masked by the other men’s idle discussions and talks about hopes of rescue, and the cruelty and fate of nature. The Oiler maintains his integrity, warmth and strength throughout the story. He obeys the Captain’s order and maintains the social structure of the group. Through these acts, the Oiler instills confidence to the other men, whose faith and hope oscillates with the waves of the ocean. Naturalism is writing literary technique used to author to portray the nature as it is. The technique engages a philosophical point of view that presents an individual’s life with events beyond their scope and control. The individual is a helpless object in a universe that controls the action that take place. Cranes uses this technique in the story extensively; from randomization of the story environment, lack of details (as with the case of the Oiler’s death), cutthroat struggle for life, and the enslavement of the four characters beyond their control. Cranes portrays nature’s indifference to humans through the death of the Oiler, the most hardworking and noblest of the four. His death and the accompanying lack of explanation surrounding it further highlight this indifference and the randomness of nature. The Oiler, from a logical perspective, least deserved to die from drowning. He was an excellent swimmer and had physical capabilities exceeding all the other characters. He worked hard even under the most physical strains, and ensured that the group remained safe in the sea by rowing the dinghy. His death also translates their perceived brotherhood as a mere delusion. According to the characters’ assigned traits, the Cook represents the dreamers and romantic individuals, the Correspondent represents the observers and thinkers, the Captain represents the leaders, and the Oiler represents the fittest and strongest in the society. For Cranes to exhibit his perception of naturalism, the best character would be Billie, the Oiler. The Oiler represents the ideal man who works hard and never loses focus. By Cranes’ choice of the Oiler, he tries to adopt the likely assumptions of the readers that the Oiler can overcome nature’s tragedies. The author shows that man does not have control over nature and fate, regardless of his physical advantages. Despite Cranes assertion on the uncontrollable nature of the universe, he gives hope to the reader on the comfort of relationships with other people. Work cited Cranes, Stephen. The Open Boat and Other Tales of Adventure. Boston: MobileReference, 2010. Print. Read More