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

olism in this character is his ability to survive despite his weakened condition and although he is withdrawn and dejected, the captain feels he must make decisions for the rest of the crew and encourages them onward, although he secretly feels they will parish. (LRC-3) The cook on the other hand is an opposite of the captain he is fat, and untidily dressed. He does not help row the boat, but does work in helping bail seawater out of the boat. When they finally spot shore the cook comments continuously on how strange it is that the crew of what he believes is a lifesaving station has not spotted them an!

The last character is the oilier, Billie, the only one given a name. And the only one of the four whom does not survive the shipwreck; his life gets taken almost at the end in shallow water. He was the most physically able to survive and the most determined to do so. He puts the strongest efforts into survival. The circumstance constitutes the story's primary irony and may signify that the assertion of will - whether demonstrated in having a name or in making a heroic effort to swim to shore - is useless in the face of an oblivious universe. (LRC-3)

rowned, why, in the name of the seven made gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees." (Am.Lit -749) Is a reference to religion would believing in god save him, he was unsure. He mentions a few times in the story about loneliness. I feel he felt alone because nothing but luck was going to allow them to be saved. 4 men or one man it made absolutely no difference. Another symbolism with this character is when everyone else is asleep but him and he sees the shark circling there little dinghy. At this point the correspondent senses the seas power and how it would be unjust to die after this amount of effort. (LRC-4)

assic case of a paranoid schizophrenic. This is easily determined by the reading the story, "I'm crazy- yes, but I know one thing" (Am-Lit) Swede behaves strangely throughout the story, referring nervously to the dangers often encountered in western towns. (LRC-2) Swede arrived at the hotel full of notions he got from reading dime novels; convinced "he's right out in the middle of it--the shooting and stabbing and all." Sure that he would be murdered, the Swede behaves more and more erratically, drinking heavily, repulsing reassurances, and interpreting hostile the most innocuous actions of others. Eventually he becomes demoniac and gets stabbed by a gambler who is a "trusted and admired" citizen of the town. (LRC-5) Cranes conve

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Approximate Word count = 1719
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

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