In Stephen Crane, “The Open Boat” there is four main characters an Oilier, Captain, Correspondent, and a Cook who formed a brotherhood in a time of crisis. Throughout the story the man encounters some good and bad experience but through it all they were able to maintain a strong brotherhood. The bond that the character had created allowed them to be rescued. The story reveals a tremendous amount of brotherhood throughout the story, but in order to appreciate the crew's challenge to achieve brotherhood one must first realize the diversity of people on the boat. The crew’s willingness to follow the captain orders display how brotherhood is first display in the story.
Suddenly, there is no longer a chain of command among these men as they work with one another against the forces of nature in a battle for their lives. The correspondent and the oiler take turns rowing the boat and fighting against the huge waves to keep it aright. The cook bails out the cold Atlantic seawater from beneath the feet of the men rowing. The captain remains a calm commander of the tired crew as he lies injured in the bow. The team heads toward a small lighthouse, in hopes of being rescued.
“The Open Boat” begins with a rich depiction of the environment. “These waves were of the hue of slate, save for the tops, which were of foaming white, and all of the men knew the colors of the sea,” says Stephen Crane as he establishes the scene in his tale of survival (226). Setting plays the vital role of the antagonist throughout the story, and is the primary force in shaping the characters’ decisions and actions. A bleak expanse of ocean serves to isolate and rock the men constantly, as they are trapped in a small dingey and forced to cope with the woes of their helpless predicament. The environment ultimately is the most important and interesting characteristic due to its nature as an adversary.
Firstly, by portraying Bromden to be a more dominant character Chief Bromden acts primarily as a narrator who describes external conditions rather than his own psychology. But in Chapter Fifteen, he provides some indication of the origin of his psychological problems. Bromden compares the imaginary “fog machine” of the mental institution to the real fog that apparently surrounded him during wartime as a matter of military tactics. This tale indicates that Chief Bromden likely suffers from some sort of shell-shock caused by his war experience. Secondly, (transformation of the men) In Kesey’s original fishing boat scene, the men reel in the fish without the aid of McMurphy.
The Correspondent is who the story is being told through. The Correspondent’s role is to row the boat. Throughout the entire story, he constantly revaluated his previous beliefs and started to wonder whether or not there was a higher power controlling his fate. For example, he questions his belief of “the gods” and quotes, “If I am going to be drowned –if I am going to be drowned- If I am going to be drowned, why in the name of the seven gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come this far, and contemplate sand and trees”(365). He wondered that if he was going to die.
I. The Young Man and the Sea Adventure, Realistic Fiction Rodman Philbrick 192 Pages II. In the book The Young Man and the Sea by Rodman Philbrick, Samuel (Skiffy) Beaman tries to raise his father’s sunken fishing boat and then tries to raise the money needed to repair the motor. When his lobster traps are vandalized by a bully, Skiff is desperate to find another source of money. When it seems that all hope is lost, he manages to harpoon a large size tuna and is thrown overboard and nearly drowns.
First, the symbols present in “the Open Boat “will be analyzed to demonstrate how they deal with the themes of men and nature and society representation. Next, we will see how in “Janus” the bowl reflects Andrea’s personal life and her point of view on the world that she lives in. The symbols in “the open boat” express what the story means. The first symbol is the boat in which the men are to survive that shows the uncertainty of the human fate. ”Many a man ought to have a bath-tub larger than the boat which here rode upon the sea.”(Crane,4) The fact that the boat is open and small leads the reader to interpret that it is no protected against danger that can arrive such as the waves” wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall”(Crane, 4).
Much of the corruption in the film is the fault of Johnny Friendly because he is the leader of the longshoremen, meanwhile Father Barry tries to take control by supporting those who wish to gain power. Terry Malloy’s gain of power at the end of the film becomes his redemption, as we see a power switch at the end of the film and the end to the ensuing corruption. The opening scene finds Johnny Friendly presented as a powerful character. Parallel to Leonard Bernstein’s intrusive score, the men of the union march from their diminutive floating shack, a subtle reminder of the limits of their power, framed by the immense ocean liner in the establishing shot. The hierarchy is clearly defined with Terry’s rough workman’s jacket marking him as less powerful than Johnny friendly and his well dressed henchmen in their “hundred and fifty dollar suites”.
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.
For instance, Odysseus remains strong for his crew, even in the toughest situations, like keeping his men under control while they are crossing paths with Scylla, so the adventurers have some kind of stability. The captain of the only remaining ship has to think quickly about the life or death decision he makes at the time of being stuck between the enormous whirlpool, Charybdis, and the ferocious six-headed monster, Scylla, not knowing if his men trust him to hold their fate. Odysseus remains calm during confrontation with the ship’s crew, even though on the inside he is mourning the loss of the six men eaten alive right in front of his glossy eyes, knowing there was nothing he could do to save them. In addition, while they are escaping the Cyclops, Odysseus foolishly tells Polyphemus his name out of pride, believing that escaping the one-eyed giant makes him almighty. Feeling as if he masters a puppet, Odysseus’s plan to escape the monster works out so perfectly that he cannot help but to boast about his intelligence.