"The Open Boat" By Stephen Crane (Reader Response)

320 Words2 Pages
In “The Open Boat”, a short story by Stephen Crane, the characters are trapped out at sea and the tale details their eventful journey to seemingly certain death. The language he used created a chaotic scene, and it felt like there was no hope for any of the characters. The small, fragile boat trapped in the midst of a storm at night created a sense of suspense for me as the reader. It seems as if by describing everything in such detail, that Crane wanted us to focus on the character’s reaction to what happened, rather than the event itself. You could see the large sway the captain had on his crew members as he soothed them with reassuring words “like children” (273). I felt a strong sense of connection between the members and it was akin to the sole ray of light at the end of a tunnel, giving hope in an otherwise desolate situation. The battle between man and nature apparent in the story makes me look around at the world that I’m living in today, I see how unpredictable and capricious nature can be. While this can lead to tragedy and isolation due to the damage and wreckage, it is up to us as members of a community to put our best effort into keeping ourselves and others alive. While others may be pessimistic about the situation, there is always something you can do to help the situation, no matter how hopeless. This story could be a good beacon of hope to a hurricane survivor or the like, as I think it would be especially powerful to them to see their own struggle detailed right there on paper. I thought Crane was trying to draw attention to the importance of working together and valuing your fellow man as you value yourself. Since we are all in the boat together, we might as well

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