Stephen Crane, recognized by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation, was shipwrecked in January 1897 on board the SS Commodore. The ship which was on its way from Florida to Cuba, transporting a substantial cargo of weapons and ammunition, sank after hitting a sandbar. Crane, who was heading to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent covering the war in Cuba, survived. He made it into a small lifeboat, together with three other men, but only three of them should survive. Back at the shore, he wrote an article about the incident, which was published on the front page of the “New York Press.” The journalistic article is a literary approach regarding his time spent on the Commodore and his subsequent rescue. The end of the article contains a gap in the narrative at the point, when the four men started to navigate their way through the rough sea and then it continues with the scenery in which they were stranded at the beach, found by people who helped them. Crane later published his short story “The Open Boat”, which perfectly fits into the missing section of the article.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Intentions of Stephen Crane
3. The Intersection of Fact and Fiction
4. Realism and Naturalism in the Work
5. Themes and Symbolism
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This essay explores the boundary between factual reporting and fictional narrative in Stephen Crane's short story "The Open Boat," specifically examining how the author utilized his real-life shipwreck experience to pioneer techniques associated with literary nonfiction and the Naturalist movement.
- The relationship between Crane's journalistic reports and his fictional short story.
- The historical context and evolution of the nonfictional writing genre.
- Application of the Naturalist literary movement's principles to the narrative.
- Analysis of symbolic elements, foreshadowing, and the concept of "cosmic irony."
Excerpt from the Book
The Intersection of Fact and Fiction
While reading the story, a lot of facts can be surmised, which match also on the content of the article, for example the character of the cook, which he met on his passage with the Commodore and with whom he had a prophesying conversation. So the work is not just based on facts, but is written with regard to the authors own experience. The sequence of events, fit exactly in the category of his style of literature. Crane is famous for his notable works in the epoch called “Realism.” A subgenre of this epoch is the literary movement of “Naturalism.”
According to M.H. Abrams, “Realism” is the ambition of the writers to “present life as it really is” (303), and to “render their materials in ways that make them seem to their readers the very stuff of ordinary experience” (303) with the result that to the readers it seems like there would be “a mirror held up to reality” (303). But “Naturalism” is more than that. It is “an even more accurate depiction of life than realism” (Abrams 303), but it is not just “a special way of rendering those materials” (Abrams 303). Naturalistic works are using a “mode of fiction that was developed by a school of writers in accordance with a particular philosophical thesis” (Abrams 304).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the background of the SS Commodore shipwreck and establishes the central research question regarding the fictional versus nonfictional nature of the story.
2. The Intentions of Stephen Crane: Investigates Crane's motivations and the historical development of the nonfictional genre in American literature.
3. The Intersection of Fact and Fiction: Analyzes how Crane blended his journalistic background with creative storytelling to break away from predefined writing standards.
4. Realism and Naturalism in the Work: Defines the philosophical tenets of Naturalism and places "The Open Boat" within this literary movement.
5. Themes and Symbolism: Examines how the author uses irony, atmosphere, and hidden forecasts to depict the struggle against indifferent natural forces.
6. Conclusion: Summarizes Crane's contribution as a pioneer of nonfictional techniques and reaffirms the story's status as a masterwork of its time.
Keywords
Stephen Crane, The Open Boat, Naturalism, Realism, nonfictional, SS Commodore, shipwreck, journalistic writing, cosmic irony, literary movement, narrative, fate, survival, human nature, American literature
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this academic paper?
The paper examines the literary composition of Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat," analyzing its status as both a fictional story and a reflection of factual biographical events.
What are the central themes discussed in the work?
The central themes include the indifference of nature to human plight, the absence of free will, the struggle for survival, and the intersection between journalistic fact and creative literature.
What is the main research question?
The author aims to determine if "The Open Boat" is primarily a work of fiction or a nonfictional account, and how the blurring of these genres categorizes the work within the Naturalist movement.
Which scientific or literary methods are applied?
The paper utilizes a literary analysis approach, referencing critical theories from scholars like M.H. Abrams and Ross Murfin to contextualize the story within the epoch of Realism and Naturalism.
What does the main body of the paper cover?
The main body covers the comparison between Crane's journalistic articles and the short story, the historical evolution of nonfiction as a genre, and a detailed look at the symbolic indicators of naturalism present in the text.
Which keywords best describe the work?
Key terms include Naturalism, Realism, cosmic irony, SS Commodore, literary nonfiction, and Stephen Crane.
How does the author interpret the color descriptions in the story?
The author interprets the use of colors, such as "slate" and "white flames," as stylistic choices intended to create an apocalyptic, doomsday-like atmosphere that emphasizes the characters' struggle.
What significance is attributed to the "Bingen on the Rhine" quote?
The author suggests that the missing lines in the quoted poem function as an intentional, hidden forecast, predicting the lonely death of the oiler.
How does the "number of dry cigars" function as a metaphor?
The author argues that the number of dry cigars and matches in the correspondent's pocket serves as a symbolic foreshadowing of how many men will eventually survive the shipwreck.
- Quote paper
- Timo Dersch (Author), 2010, Stephen Crane´s “The Open Boat “ - A Naturalistic Short Story, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/160708
