Analysis of "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane (1871-1900)

Name: Professor: Course/Subject: Date: The Triumph of the Human Spirit in the face of Nature`s Vehemence: an analysis of Stephen crane`s "The Open Boat" Stephen Crane`s "The Open Boat" is a fitting allegory on the different ways by which humanity seeks to cope with the vicissitudes of life. The short story led us to the cramped struggle of four men vying for continued survival as the forces of nature, as exhibited by the sea, threatened their existence. All throughout the short story, there has been this pointed oscillation between two attitudes which men can take as they recognize and face the inevitability of death, of a curtailed existence whose promise of being recovered is nil. At some points, the men were clouded with pessimism, as if resigning in a laid back manner in the face of their lives` termination. Commonly summoned ideas and terms like "fate" were also included here and it is in these things that the men passed on the decisiveness regarding one`s life. While they tarry in this point of view, they are extremely incredulous with their human agency, if ever they still believe that they have such. However, on the other side of the coin is the spirited optimism in the face of an impending tragedy. They mostly rely on the forceful fellowship of humanity and their own carrying of their will to live as they face the adversity. As we explore the story further, utilizing key passages and quotations that highlight the point we are trying to arrive at, we can see more lucidly how the shift to and from these two attitudes towards the external factors that seem to imperil humanity. At the onset of the story, we can already sense a lurking doom that could befall to our characters. The story begins with this sentence, just as the narrator continued to describe the general appearance of the sea whose vehemence our protagonists deal with: "None of them knew the color of the sky." This passage already hints at the kind of sight the men have. This is not just our basic conception of the idea of sight as we associate it with our eyes; this can also refer to the character`s general kind of vision, the way they prepare against foreseen circumstances and the way they look at the future, the unknown. We can assert that while engulfed in the vastness of the sea, the men in the boat were comparable to helpless kids searching for his mother and seeking protection from the bullies or those who prevent him from getting what he wants. in this passage, this point...