THE OPEN BOAT

1. THE OPEN BOAT BY : STEPHEN CRANE MEIS MOHAMMED 12G2

2. WHO IS THE AUTHOR Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American author. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism and Impressionism. He is recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation.

3. THEMES Nature’s Indifference to Man Despite the narrator’s profusion of animistic (animal- like), humanistic (manlike), and deistic (godlike) characterizations of nature, Crane makes clear that nature is ultimately indifferent to the plight of man, possessing no consciousness that we can understand. As the stranded men progress through the story, the reality of nature’s lack of concern for them becomes increasingly clear. The narrator highlights this development by changing the way he describes the sea. Early in the story, the sea snarls, hisses, and bucks like a bronco; later, it merely “paces to and fro,” no longer an actor in the men’s drama. In reality, the sea does not change at all; only the men’s perception of the sea changes. The unaltered activity of the gulls, clouds, and

4. RHETORICAL DEVICES One of the literary devices that Crane uses in his writings is personification. Personification is the use of giving non human things human like characteristics. Crane gives the waves human like characteristics in the story to get a point across about the waves. In, "The Open Boat: A Work of Figurative Language and Imagery," Claudon writes that Crane gives the sea, animal characteristics when he says they, "growl and roar, snarl and are wild." This is stating that the waves as fierce as animals in the wild. Crane also says, "The boat is a bronco and a wild colt which prances, rears, plunges and leaps."

5. MOOD frantic, confused, exhausted, suspenseful ... all the emotions they go through as they try to bring the boat to safety.