The Open Boat: Who Perished And Why?

In Stephen Crane's short story 'The Open Boat', the only character who does not survive is the oiler, Billie Higgins. This is ironic as he is the physically strongest of the four men stranded at sea and the most experienced seaman. His death underscores the story's themes of naturalism and the randomness of fate, highlighting the indifferent power of nature over human struggle.

The indifference of nature

The story is based on a real-life incident from Crane's life. In 1897, he was stranded at sea for thirty hours after his ship, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida. Crane and three other men were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat. One of the men, an oiler named Billy Higgins, drowned while trying to swim to shore.

Crane's personal account of the shipwreck and the men's survival, titled 'Stephen Crane's Own Story', was published a few days after his rescue. He subsequently adapted this into narrative form, and 'The Open Boat' was published in Scribner's Magazine.

The story is told from the point of view of an anonymous correspondent, with Crane as the implied author. The four characters are the correspondent, the captain, the cook, and the oiler, Billie. The correspondent is the only character whose inner thoughts are revealed to the reader.

The men are faced with the likelihood of their own deaths. They are largely helpless in the face of nature's power. The sea serves as a powerful reminder of the forces of nature: their lives could be lost at any moment by natural phenomena, such as a large wave, a strong current, an ill wind, or a shark.

The correspondent thinks about a poem in which a French soldier dies, unmourned, far from his home. He realises that he faces a similarly senseless death, and finds the true meaning of courage and heroism in the simple will to survive.

The correspondent recognises that nature is indifferent to his fate. In what is perhaps the most famous passage from the story, he imagines that a tall windmill on shore, with its back to the men, personifies nature:

> "It represented to a degree, to the correspondent, the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual—nature in the wind, and nature in the vision of men. She did not seem cruel to him then, nor beneficent, nor treacherous, nor wise. But, she was indifferent, flatly indifferent."

The story ends with the men lying awake on shore, listening to the sound of the ocean. They feel that they can now be interpreters. We are left to wonder what it is that the sea is hoping to communicate to humankind.

The randomness of fate

Stephen Crane's short story 'The Open Boat' is based on a real-life incident from his own life. In 1897, Crane was stranded at sea for thirty hours after his ship, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida. Crane and three other men were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat, during which time one of the men, an oiler named Billy Higgins, drowned.

The story is told from the point of view of an anonymous correspondent, with Crane as the implied author. The four characters are introduced as the correspondent, the captain, the cook, and the oiler, Billie. The correspondent is a stand-in for Crane, the captain is injured and morose, the cook is fat and comical, and the oiler is physically the strongest of the group.

The story explores the conflict between man and nature, as the men are isolated not only from society but also from God and nature. The men's moods fluctuate from anger at their desperate situation to a growing empathy for one another, and they realise that nature is indifferent to their fates.

The story ends with the three survivors lying awake on shore, listening to the sound of the ocean, and feeling that they can now be interpreters. This ending is ambiguous and has been the subject of much interpretation. One interpretation is that the men have realised that nature is indifferent to their struggles, and that this realisation has given them a new understanding of the world.

The struggle for survival

Stephen Crane's short story 'The Open Boat' is based on a real-life incident from the author's life. In 1897, Crane was stranded at sea for thirty hours after his ship, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida. Crane and three other men were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat. One of the men, an oiler named Billy Higgins, drowned while trying to swim to shore.

The story tells of the men's struggle for survival against the forces of nature. The four survivors of the shipwreck are introduced as the correspondent, the captain, the cook, and the oiler, Billie. The correspondent is based on Crane himself. The captain is injured and morose at having lost his ship, yet capable of leadership. The cook is fat and comical, but optimistic that they will be rescued. The oiler, Billie, is physically the strongest of the four.

The moods of the men fluctuate from anger at their desperate situation to a growing empathy for one another and the sudden realisation that nature is indifferent to their fates. The oiler and the correspondent take turns rowing towards shore while the cook bails water to keep the boat afloat. When they see a lighthouse on the horizon, their hope is tempered with the realisation of the danger of trying to reach it. Their hopes dwindle further when, after seeing a man waving from the shore, and what may or may not be another boat, they fail to make contact. The correspondent and the oiler continue to take turns rowing while the others sleep fitfully during the night.

In the penultimate chapter, the men resolve to abandon the floundering dinghy and swim ashore. As they begin the long swim to the beach, Billie the oiler, the strongest of the four, swims ahead of the others. The captain advances towards the shore while still holding onto the boat, and the cook uses a surviving oar. The correspondent is trapped by a local current, but is eventually able to swim on. After three of the men safely reach the shore, they find Billie dead, his body washed up on the beach.

The death of the oiler underscores the story's themes of naturalism and the randomness of fate, highlighting the indifferent power of nature over human struggle. It can be seen as an antithesis to Darwinism in that the only person to not survive was in fact the strongest physically.

The power of human solidarity

Crane's story explores the power of human solidarity in the face of extreme adversity. The four men in the story, referred to as the Cook, the Correspondent, the Oiler, and the Captain, are all struggling to survive in the open ocean after their ship sinks. Despite their differences in age, profession, and physical ability, they come together as a team, relying on each other's strengths to survive. The Captain, though injured, remains the leader of the group, guiding the others with his knowledge and experience. The Cook, though out of shape and unaccustomed to physical labour, takes on the crucial task of bailing out water. Meanwhile, the Oiler and the Correspondent alternate as rowers, taking turns to rest.

As the men face the relentless waves, the indifferent sea, and the threat of sharks, their solidarity deepens. Crane writes of a "subtle brotherhood" that forms between them, a bond forged in their shared struggle for survival. They support and encourage each other, taking comfort in their shared humanity. This sense of solidarity is most evident in the final chapter, when the men resolve to abandon their floundering dinghy and swim for shore. Despite their exhaustion and fear, they draw strength from each other, knowing that their best chance of survival lies in staying together.

However, their solidarity is tested when they reach the shore. The Oiler, the physically strongest of the group, swims ahead, while the others struggle to keep up. In their desperation to reach land, the men become separated, and the Oiler ultimately drowns. His death underscores the story's themes of naturalism and the randomness of fate, highlighting the power of nature over human struggle.

In conclusion, 'The Open Boat' is a powerful story that illustrates the importance of human solidarity in the face of adversity. The four men, despite their differences, come together as a team, relying on each other's strengths to survive. Their shared struggle forges a deep bond between them, a sense of brotherhood that carries them through their darkest hours. However, their solidarity is tested by the harsh realities of their situation, reminding us that even the strongest human connections can be fragile in the face of nature's indifference.

Reverse-Darwinism

Stephen Crane's short story "The Open Boat" is based on a real-life incident from his own life. In 1897, Crane was stranded at sea for thirty hours after his ship, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida. Crane and three other men were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat. One of the men, an oiler named Billy Higgins, drowned while trying to swim to shore.

The story is often classified as a work of Naturalism, an offshoot of the Realist literary movement, in which scientific principles of objectivity and detachment are applied to the study of human characteristics. The story explores the conflict between man and nature, and the powerlessness of humans in the face of nature's indifference.

The death of the oiler, the only character to perish in the story, has been interpreted as an instance of "Reverse-Darwinism" or "Survival of the Not-Fittest". The oiler is the physically strongest of the four men and the most experienced at sea, yet he is the one who does not survive. This seems to go against the idea of "Survival of the Fittest", suggesting that nature is indifferent to human struggles and that survival is a matter of chance rather than fitness.

Crane leaves the reason for the oiler's death open to interpretation. The story hints at the existence of inherent goodness in humanity, as the men are rescued by a naked man who appears like a "shining saint", followed by a crowd of rescuers bearing gifts. However, the true reason for the oiler's death remains a mystery, highlighting the indifferent and unpredictable nature of the sea.

The story's ending suggests that the characters have come to some sort of realization or interpretation about their experience. They hear the sound of the ocean and "felt that they could then be interpreters". This could be interpreted as them gaining a new understanding of their place in the world and the indifference of nature, or the randomness of fate.

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