Naturalism Presented in "The Open Boat"

Naturalism Presented in The Open Boat Naturalistic writers tend to write in a somewhat scientific method because their characters are placed in a situation where the forces of nature or the environment are imposed upon them. The characters are then observed to see how they handle the challenge. Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" follows this pattern of writing. The reader is allowed to observe as the four characters fight against the natural elements to survive.
The different forces of nature applied to the characters of "The Open Boat" by Stephan Crane, are encountered by all human beings in life. The survival of whatever nature or any force beyond our control is the goal of all people. Life is not easy, but by enduring the trials of life, human capabilities are oftentimes proved to be far greater than ever expected.
Crane's crew includes the cook, the oiler, the correspondent, and the captain- all on a boat that "a man ought to have a bath tub larger than". As the men fight the crest of each wave they encounter, it is obvious that this is a desperate situation. Showing their powerlessness the narrator describes a group of birds as sitting "…comfortably in groups, and they were envied by some in the dinghy, for the wrath of the sea was no more to them than it was to a covey of prairie chickens a thousand miles inland". Even though the men are in grave danger, the sun rises and sets and a shark even swims by but seems to have no need for the men in the boat. The men even believe that the waves are harsh on them and want to capsize the boat. The narrator explains that "[the waves were] nervously anxious to do something effective in the way of swamping boats". Even though it is obvious that the ocean always has waves, it is hard for the men to understand that they are merely caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Although the men are experiencing the ocean as it always is, they still seem to believe that nature has some sort of decision to make about