The "waves were of the hue slate,...most wrongfully and barbously abrubt and tall," in the beginning. By writing long descriptions of waves, Crane sets a scene so believable, the reader feels she's being bombarded by the sea. Crane also sets the mood by portraying the captain as a fatherly figure. The captain's optimism is a heroic effort of "soothing his children." There is a better understanding of the crew as a whole and how they interact. Though the men

are "at the mercy of five oceans," there never could be a "more ready and swiftly obedient crew" for the captain to command.

By the end of the story, Crane puts the reader inside the correspondent's head. The reader completely understands what he's thinking and why he's contemplating those thoughts. When the correspondent goes into the sea, he thinks of the cold water as "sad" and "tragic." Then Crane writes, "This fact was somehow mixed and confused with his opinion of his own situation, so it seemed almost a proper reason for tears." Crying either comes or doesn't; Crane handles tears in such a way that they are not embarrassingly sentimental. Then comes the magnificent amount of heroism. First, there is the naked man, risking his own life for the shipwrecked crew. This man saves the cook and goes towards the captain. Demonstating another act of heroism, the captain waves the nake man towards the correspondent. The last heroic po

Some common words found in the essay are:
Stephen Crane's, heroic pathetic, story crane, sea crane, crane writes, crane sets,
Approximate Word count = 632
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)