The Open Boat vs. The Blue Hotel

A detailed Summary of The Open Boat vs. The Blue Hotel

Steven Crane, born in 1871, was one of the American's foremost realistic writers, and his works have been credited with marking the beginning of modern American Naturalism. Crane utilized his keen observations, as well as personal experiences, to achieve a narrative vividness and sense of immediacy matched by a few American writers before him. (LRC-5)

In two stories written by Crane, both objects and characters mean more than their physical name. The two stories I am referring to are the "The Open Boat", and "The Blue Hotel". Both stories written in 1898. "The Open Boat", was a story written about Crane's experience in a shipwreck of the Commodore. "The Open Boat" raises deeply philosophical issues and is rife with symbolism. (LRC-1) The story has four main characters that are all symbolized in the story by their names or by their thought and actions.

The captain, was an injured character in the story, he was unable to help row the boat and guide it like captains do, when they are about the sea. In the end this character survives by clinging on to the overturned boat as it washed into the shallow water by the surf. He waves away a rescuer and points to the correspondent, indicating he should be helped first. (LRC-2) The symb

the hotel or around its grounds. The main fight between the Swede and Johnnie is outside in the bitter cold in the street. (LRC-6) Crane symbolizes the blizzard stirring up outside to the feud stirring up inside the blue hotel. The hotel could possibly change the characters way of thinking and cause them to be really weird. This is shown when Scully shows the Swede pictures of his dead family. What person in their right mind would show someone who thinks they are going to be killed a picture of someone who was killed? These examples show how the settings are more important than the characters in this story. The characters are very odd in this story. It's very hard to think of how such a group could have been formed. The difference among the men is large. The cowboy is rugged and sinister type, while the easterner is very open and joyful. Johnnie is not like his dad, Scully. They seem to be foils of each other. The Swede is just very unique and in a class by himself. He is a cl!

The correspondent is the only character in the story whose thoughts the reader is given direct access to. Direct access is possible because the correspondent is Stephen Crane. The story was based on an actual experience of his. He feels in the end that he survived by sheer luck. A large wave carried him into the shallow water near land. The large hurdle at the end was a relief and that disaster is over. (LRC-2) The correspondent rages throughout the story at his cruel fate. Comparing himself to a mouse - a particularly minuscule and weak image in view of the seas immensity and power- he notes the injustice of his dilemma. (LRC-3) The correspondent suggests that human beings are helpless to choose their own fates in a universe that is indifferent to their efforts or suffering. The symbolism in this character is a little deeper. His reference to the passage that was in the story a few times was. " If I am going to be drowned - if I am going to be drowned - if I am going to be d!

Each of the men in the dinghy is faced with the likelihood of his own death. While they row and wait to be rescued, the realization sets in that they are largely helpless in the face of nature's power. The irony to the sea serves as a powerful reminder of the forces of nature: their lives could be lost at any moment by the most common of natural phenomena, such as a large wave, a strong current, and ill wind, or most ominously, a hungry shark. This profoundly affects the men, who feel that it would be unjust to be drowned after all, their best efforts to save themselves. "Perhaps

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1719
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

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