Stephen Crane-the Open Boat

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“When it came night, the white waves passed to and fro in the moonlight, and the wind brought the sound of the great sea’s voice to the men on the shore, and they felt they could then be interpreters” (Crane 370). “The Open Boat,” written by Stephen Crane, describes the journey of four men stranded in a dinghy in the middle of the ocean and the hardships that had to be faced in order to survive. This story is not only a riveting story, keeping readers on the edge of their seat, but the story also makes the reader realize how precious life truly is. Sometimes people have a tendency to take life as a grain of salt and do not think about the realization that life can be taken away within the blink of an eye. As in “The Open Boat,” the crew members learned they could not survive alone, and their only option was to work together as a team. We need to have that same perspective toward our everyday life when we, or someone we see, are struggling. The Captain is a major character in the story, and his character holds the other crew members heads up keeping them motivated during times of distress. He was the captain on the original boat, but after the boat sank, he become injured and could not physically participate in keeping the dinghy afloat. In the beginning, the captain feels that he has lost his sense of direction due to not being used to letting others take charge. Without his sense of authority intact, he feels disconnected from the world, and his spirit becomes dismantled. However, since he was not able to contribute in the way he preferred, he led the way by giving specific instructions to the other characters in order to keep the dinghy afloat. Every member on the boat follows his directions. He commands very respectably. This made the Captain feel like he could still be in charge without physically leading the way. The Correspondent is who the story is told

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