When we think of love the first thing that comes to mind is a person. A person whom we care and have strong and constant affection towards. In the 21st century we see true “love” fading away. Unfortunately, we live in an era where traditional values of love and honor are being replaced with our own dreams so much that divorce is now a common word. Peter Meinke’s use of symbols in “The Cranes” gives the impression of being a simple love story of an old couple birdwatching while reminiscing on their life together, but in reality reveals the darker components of love.…
Stories of survival at sea have captured people’s curiosity and imagination throughout history. The struggles that some seafarers have faced while drifting on the open sea are remarkable. “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane is the story of four crew members trying to survive on the open sea while in a dinghy after their ship sank. Throughout the story, Crane describes how man and nature react with one another. By his description of their reactions, Crane makes it clear that nature does not care about man’s well being.…
The four main characters in the "Open Boat" are the captain, the cook, the correspondent, and the oiler; also known as Billy. The captain is injured in the shipwreck that takes place before the beginning of the story. Despite his injury he naturally falls as the leader amongst the group of men. Stephen Crane says "...he could never command a more ready and swiftly obedient crew than the motley three of the dinghy." Although the men are no longer on the ship the same understanding and respect is still apparent for their captain. The cook is the most optimistic out of the group. Throughout, the "Open Boat" the cook remains hopeful the men will be rescued. His up-beat attitude helps to keep…
Stephen Crane: The Open Boat In his short story, 'The Open Boat,' Stephen Crane displays to us a universe completely indifferent to the affairs of humankind; we live in an apathetic world, in which man has to fight and struggle to live. The characters illustrated in the story come face-to-face with this indifference and all are nearly overcome by nature's lack of concern with humanity. The survivors are alive primarily through determination and cooperation. We as human are alive because our constant struggles to co-exist in this universe. Crane illustrates to readers how we are all in an endless battle for our life in a world that doesn’t seem to care for us, as much as we care for ourselves.…
Mark Twain once said “Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first”. People feel as if the world owes them something because the odds have not been in their favor. How come we feel like we should be rewarded by the universe? Stephen Crane’s short story, “The Open Boat,” is based on a real-life incident in which the author experienced being stranded in the ocean. The short story is about four men from different classes who are left stranded near the coast of Florida. They experience suffering as the men begin to develop a relationship that would not have been there if the ship had not sunk. Throughout, their loss of hope grows, leading to their anger towards the universe. Many see it as an example of social darwinism, however it is more closely related to literary naturalism. This is a movement that applies scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to its study of human beings. Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” reveals the conflict between the men and nature.…
In “The Boat” by Alistair Macleod, the boat, and the ill-fitting clothes he wore significantly represent the confinement and the father’s inability to break free from tradition, reinforcing that tradition can suppress one’s dream for greater things. To begin, the boat itself is a symbol of the fathers bounding to the sea, showing his obligation to follow customs. The boat is categorize with a “marine clutch and a high speed reverse gear and was painted on an oblong plate across her stern. Jenny Lynn had been my mother’s maiden name and the boat was called after her as another link in the chain of tradition”(Macleod 3) The high speed reverse gear depicts how the father is not moving forward along with the light green name of Jenny Lynn that demonstrates the father’s sacrifice for the fishing custom to support his family. The Jenny Lynn that he receives through tradition gives him a constant reminder that his way of life may never change and that his dreams are out of his reach. Furthermore, the clothing in his closet symbolizes the father’s imprisonment with tradition. The narrator mentions “his ill-fitted serge suit, the two or three white shirts that strangled him and the square black shoes that pinched” (Macleod 4) The square black shoes that pinched him means that the life of fishing that he inherits does not fit, the life he lives is simply to overpowering that it damages him. The white shirts that suffocates him shows the struggles he faces everyday that he is unable to separate from. His attire is so inflexible that it was leaving him trapped in one place incapable to grasp his own desires. Lastly, at the father’s death his departure speculates that it is suicide to liberate his son and himself from an unhappy future bringing the fishing tradition with him. When the father’s body is discovered “the white green stubble of his whiskers had continued to grow in death. Physically as he lay there with the brass chains on his wrist and seaweed in his hair”(Macleod…
Andrew Delbanco, writer for New Republic, suggested that “Crane’s likely attitude toward such questions: One sees what one prefers”. The experiences and lessons portrayed in Stephen Crane’s works are based on his own personal vision and sense of integrity. (“Stephen Crane”) Crane’s works very often rebuke traditional ideologies and inquires about things that religions aren’t necessarily concerned about. (Vanouse) He loves to analyze and interpret human actions when undergoing terrible and often faith-testing scenarios. (Vanouse) In the poem “A Man Said to The Universe”, Crane’s naturalistic views are put on display as he talks about man getting little acknowledgement by the universe. He is saying that man is very disconnected to their setting and pokes fun at the main character’s longing for recognition by the universe. (Awana) Even from a young age, Crane swayed from the conventional piety and was skeptical about “the lake of fire and other sideshows of Christianity”. (Vanouse) In one of Crane’s novels, Maggie, published…
The Open Boat by Stephen Crane is a story describing four men that are trapped together in a small boat or dingy. The men aboard the boat are a captain, a correspondent, an oiler, and a cook. The men were aboard a larger boat that crashed off the coast of Florida and are now searching for the safety of a light house they remember. After making a homemade sail and some brisk paddling they finally get near the coast. They spot some people and begin to signal for help but the people only respond with friendly waves. The tide is much too strong to swim to shore so they paddle back out to sea a ways and wait for it to calm. While waiting they get approached by a shark. The large fish circles in such a way that death searches for the next victim it will claim. The men keep rowing and head toward shore. Upon arriving a reasonable distance from the shore, the captain announces that when the boat is about to sink that they will all jump and swim for shore. The oiler, cook, and correspondent evacuate the boat and swim for the sandy beach. The captain stays close to the boat because his injury inhibits his swimming ability. They are having trouble completely the journey to safety when a naked man comes and helps the correspondent and cook on shore. These two men alongside the captain are warmly welcomed by many. The oiler, however, is only welcomed by a sandy grave. The four men each represent four different members of society. The captain represents the leaders; the cook the followers; the oiler the workers; and the correspondent the observers and thinkers. These men must learn to work together and thrive off of one another’s strengths and make up for the other’s weaknesses. Each of these men are very different but the fury of nature does not discriminate against any man.…
Tradition Against Freedom "The Boat" by Alistair MacLeod is the story told from the perspective of university teacher looking back on his life. The narrator relates the first memories of his life until his father's death. The story focuses on the conflicting relation between the mother and the father, and their different perspectives on how their children should lead their lives. MacLeod uses features of setting to present the tension between tradition and freedom.…
The boarding of the boat described at the end of Chapter Three symbolized the escape from communist ideals and the passengers represented the Vietnam escapees. Throughout pages 56 through 59 Vietnamese constantly call for the boatman to wait for them. The boatman said, “Get in quickly if you want to cross. This is the last run.” This showed how communism was coming quickly and escape was not a luxury that would remain much longer. Each time the boat prepared to leave someone called for it to wait and let them board. First was the woman with her basket of potatoes, then the traveling salesman with his suitcase. As the boat finally pulled out of the bay “a chill mist evaporated off the water” When the boat left another young woman called for the boatman to wait but it was too late as they were already underway. While she cried, “Boatman, ho boatman! ... curls of smoke fused with the clouds, erasing the horizon line.” She was too late to escape Communism and the ideals it brought with it. The Smoke had engulfed the “distant bank” throwing it into…
The Boat Response Paper By: Sierra Selleck The short story “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod that was written in 1968, is a story about conflict between tradition and freedom. The father is a fisherman who only continues his job because he is chained through the past of others. The family son is restricted from his education because he spends a lot of time on the boat worried about his parents expectations. His mother believes that he will carry on and take his fathers place in the fisherman position. When the father is not out on the boat, he is in his room reading, to escape the world of imprisonment and monotonous duty. The mother of the family believes that the tradition of being a fisherman in the boat, is the only right way for her husband and children to continue living their lives. The author is trying to tell us to follow our dreams in life that won't keep us chained and unhappy and to never limit your options. As the father is unable to live freely, he is chained to his job through tradition.…
Dinghy vs. Nature In his short story, "The Open Boat," Stephen Crane shows how an inanimate object can be very unconcerned with whether you live or die. In this case, it is an ocean, which man has to struggle to survive. The characters in the story come face to face with this natural disaster and nearly overcome by Nature's lack of concern. They survive only through persistence and cooperation. Crane shows the reader how not to give up when something so uncontrollable is present. Crane shows how unforgiving the sea can actually be by incorporating sharks, a flock of birds, and recollection of their childhood.…
ENG 101 Feb. 3, 2011 The Open Boat Compare and Contrast Essay Rough Draft This paper is about the story “The Open Boat” written by Stephen Crane. In this paper, I will try to provide the similarities of the original story with the newspaper account. The differences in each article will also be discussed. Lastly, I will provide a conclusion based on the facts of both articles.…
The Cost of Free Will “The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.”…
Introduction A. Attention Getter: An American writer named Morgan Robertson once wrote a book called The Wreck of the Titan. The book was about an “unsinkable” ship called the Titan that set sail from England to New York with many rich and famous passengers on board. On its journey, the Titan hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic and sank. Many lives were lost because there were not enough lifeboats. So, what is so strange about this? Well, The Wreck of the Titan was written 14 years before the Titanic sank.…