Nature in Stephen Crane's The Open Boat

A detailed Summary of Nature in Stephen Crane's The Open Boat

There are more characters than just the captain, the correspondent, the oiler and the cook in Stephen Crane's The Open Boat. There is a fifth character: nature. Nature can be seen as the main character in the story as it is constantly affecting the four men in the boat and is ever-present throughout their ordeal. Many different views of nature are expressed in this work: nature as the causal agent of the entire trial, as being personified in it's action and as being indifferent to the plights of man.

Nature is the force that drives the action in The Open Boat. The four men battle the waves, the wind and the cold from start to finish in the short story. Every page describes the "wrath of the sea" (398), the strong, howling wind, the "cold-sea water" (404) and how the four brave men fight against them to survive. Obviously, were nature in a calmer state, none of the events would transpire. As it is, nature, through it's thrashing waves and torrential wind, force the four men to struggle and fight until they can not fight anymore. This battle against the forces of nature propel the story as it goes through seven phases.

Each phase of The Open Boat has it's own sensibility and how nature relates in that respect. The f

Nature is personified in this story. The captain and the crew use the personal pronoun 'she' when referring to nature. This in itself demonstrates the attitudes that the men had for the sea. The waves are said to be "furious, implacable" (413) as they move with a "terrible grace" (397) to the "snarling" (397) crests. The "play of the free sea" (397) tests the men to keep their tiny lifeboat afloat long enough to find a place to land. When the men are fighting to swim to shore in the final phase of the story, the current of the sea is referred to as a "strange new enemy" (414). The men hear the "great sea's voice" (416) in the closing scene of the tale. It is obvious that the men in the story view nature as an entity as they constantly gives it characteristics of animate objects. In The Open Boat, nature plays the greatest role and is given descriptions as if it were alive and reacting to it's surroundings.

In conclusion, The Open Boat portrays nature as a main character in the story. Many devices are used to culminate this interpretation. Through the many descriptions of nature as a causation of the action and as a constant force, it is easily interpreted as a primary persona in the story. The attitude and indifference of nature, as expressed by the sailors, greatly aids in developing nature as a crucial character in the short story.

Nature is seen as indifferent and uncaring. This goes along with the idea that nature is personified. It is thought to have actions of animate objects in the story and there is an attitude that the men attribute to nature that correlates with it. There are frequent mentions that nature is

uncaring, indifferent and that the trials of one person do not matter in the overall view of the universe. To the men, their situation on the boat leads them to believe in this attitude. The waves slap against the

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Approximate Word count = 1259
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English