English 48B
2/12/09
Stephen Crane
"...It was tragic. This fact was somehow so mixed and confused with his opinion of his own situation that it seemed almost a proper reason for tears. The water was cold."
This passage from The Open Boat is from the inner thoughts of the correspondent, who in actuality, is Stephen Cran
e's story. It is describing the scene where the men are knocked out of the boat, and into the freezing water of Florida. While it is happening to all the men, it is told from the correspondents perspective, so he is isolating himself from the crew, and while they probably all feel the same thing, he is making it appear as if the world is against him, him alone. This is the only time throughout the story that a character is on the verge of tears, and it is interesting the time that this occurs. It is not when the men are stewing alone, contemplating their own deaths, or are nearly starving to death. It is only when he is knocked off the boat, into January water, that he is overwhelmed. There are several reasons I believe that Stephen Crane chose to use this particular scene to convey such frustration and emotion, some of which we brushed over in class. However, I have a couple of my own thoughts on it as well.
As we discussed in class, the emo
tion being stirred from the correspondent is the idea that the "cold water" was the last straw that puts him over the edge. Not only is the crew lost at sea, dying, and all around miserable, but when thrown into the water, it is ice cold. Not only is it cold, but it is in Florida, where they dreamed the water would be anything but. Florida is thought of as a oasis, "paradise" place, and when the correspondents depiction of this is tarnished, it is enough to throw him off the edge. Not only can the idea of cold water be looked at on a literal sense, but it can also be viewed from a metaphorical sense, which is a common occurrence I have noticed among Crane. While of course there is water, because they are lost at sea, "cold" water can represent something else. The ocean is there only chance of survival, if it steers them in direction towards safety, and is also there chance of death. The water is cold, in that it is forcing their journey to be a struggle. Crane uses nature as "not regarding him as important" and this quote coincides with this idea. Nature has so much control over their lives, in fact, is the only control at this point in their lives, and "she" is cold by causing such an experience. Crane often also refers to the "seven gods" of the sea, and he is implying that the gods that are controlling their fate are monstrous in a sense. The ocean, or the cold water, is also extremely vast, and Crane uses the ocean to emphasize how insignificant all the characters, or in his mind, people in general, are in comparison to the world. He wants to show that an individual does not matter when looking at the perspective of the entire universe.
e's story. It is describing the scene where the men are knocked out of the boat, and into the freezing water of Florida. While it is happening to all the men, it is told from the correspondents perspective, so he is isolating himself from the crew, and while they probably all feel the same thing, he is making it appear as if the world is against him, him alone. This is the only time throughout the story that a character is on the verge of tears, and it is interesting the time that this occurs. It is not when the men are stewing alone, contemplating their own deaths, or are nearly starving to death. It is only when he is knocked off the boat, into January water, that he is overwhelmed. There are several reasons I believe that Stephen Crane chose to use this particular scene to convey such frustration and emotion, some of which we brushed over in class. However, I have a couple of my own thoughts on it as well.As we discussed in class, the emo
tion being stirred from the correspondent is the idea that the "cold water" was the last straw that puts him over the edge. Not only is the crew lost at sea, dying, and all around miserable, but when thrown into the water, it is ice cold. Not only is it cold, but it is in Florida, where they dreamed the water would be anything but. Florida is thought of as a oasis, "paradise" place, and when the correspondents depiction of this is tarnished, it is enough to throw him off the edge. Not only can the idea of cold water be looked at on a literal sense, but it can also be viewed from a metaphorical sense, which is a common occurrence I have noticed among Crane. While of course there is water, because they are lost at sea, "cold" water can represent something else. The ocean is there only chance of survival, if it steers them in direction towards safety, and is also there chance of death. The water is cold, in that it is forcing their journey to be a struggle. Crane uses nature as "not regarding him as important" and this quote coincides with this idea. Nature has so much control over their lives, in fact, is the only control at this point in their lives, and "she" is cold by causing such an experience. Crane often also refers to the "seven gods" of the sea, and he is implying that the gods that are controlling their fate are monstrous in a sense. The ocean, or the cold water, is also extremely vast, and Crane uses the ocean to emphasize how insignificant all the characters, or in his mind, people in general, are in comparison to the world. He wants to show that an individual does not matter when looking at the perspective of the entire universe.
20 points. Control is always an illusion.
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