Naturalism was a literary movement that took place in the late 19th century. Nature writers used nature as an indifferent force against humans. Stephen Crane was one of the most important figures of this movement. The settings and details of his works show man overwhelmed by circumstances and environment (American literature). In Open Boat, published in 1897, Crane illustrates the controlling force that nature has over humanity and the struggle and determination of man. The tale is based on his real-life experience of surviving a shipwreck. While traveling to Cuba to work as a newspaper correspondent, the ship he was on, the SS Commodore, sank off the coast of Florida, and he and three others, the captain, the oiler and the cook, spent 30 hours on a lifeboat. fighting the elements and trying to get to shore (Spofford 317). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay From the start their outlook is bleak. “None of them knew the color of the sky.” This implies the uncertainty of what will happen to men and what they will have to face. They don't know if they will survive and reach the shore or if they will succumb to the sea. “All men knew the colors of the sea.” They are focused on the sea and observe every detail. Their immediate concern is trying to navigate their tiny vessel, smaller than a "bathtub", through the sea waves "wrongly and barbarically, abrupt and high". The men take turns rowing the boat and obeying the captain's commands. The captain says to Billie, the tanker rowing to "Keep'er a little further south." Billie obliges: “A little further south, sir.” The men know that if they have any chance of surviving, they must listen carefully to the captain as he is a true professional of the sea. Men develop friendship as an unnatural force. They are as weak as one man, but when they unite they create a bond that nature cannot unfold. "They were a captain, an oilman, a cook and a correspondent, and they were friends, friends in a degree curiously more iron-bound than may be common." After surviving the shipwreck and battling the sea, the two men bond in a “personal and heartfelt” way. They depend on each other because that's all they have now. They support each other. The men kept each other's feet warm by "pushing them under his companions." It is them against the sea and they will do whatever is necessary to ensure that everyone gets home safely. In case they all couldn't make it, "they exchanged some addresses and admonitions" so that the other men could inform their loved ones. Their families would like to hear about their deaths from friends, not strangers. Humans' perception of nature changes throughout history depending on how it is affecting them at that moment. The waves are described as a “slate shade” and so harsh that they are so powerful that they cause the small boat to rear and rear like an “animal.” The men are worried for their lives and wonder if "that particular wave was the final explosion of the ocean, the last effort of the dark waters" and would carry them away. The waves calmed but men were constantly reminded that nature was in charge, not them. “The roar of the waves here was muted, but its tone was still thunderous and powerful. When the men then see the shore but no lifeboat station, their hopes are dashed. “It was bitter and bitter to them that no sign came from this” (Crane IV). Once men are enoughnear the shore for the second time, their spirits lift and they watch the gray sky turn “carmine and gold” and then transform into a “splendor with a sky of pure blue.” The men know that they are close to salvation and now nature seems less of a threat to them. The men question the gods and their destiny and try to make sense of their situation. The captain could see “in the grays of dawn seven faces”. It feels like the sea gods were supposed to be there to help them survive, but they abandoned them. “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 mad gods who rule the sea have I been allowed to come this far and gaze upon the sand? and the trees? Was I brought here only to have my nose dragged away while I was about to munch on the sacred cheese of life? (Crane IV). It is absurd that they were brought within sight of land, only to be drowned as effectively as they could have done so in the sunken ship. “For it was certainly an abominable injustice to drown a man who had worked so hard.” They call fate an “old fool” who should not supervise “the management of men's fortunes.” They curse her because she is "absurd". Now they understand that the real controller of their situation is nature, not destiny. “When it occurs to man that nature does not consider him important and that he feels that he would not maim the universe by eliminating it, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and deeply hates that there are no bricks. and no temples” They come to understand that nature does not care for them. The correspondent realizes that his true relationship with the natural universe is doubly frustrating especially when nature takes no cognizance of him (Spofford 317). If not, he wishes to protest, but he embodies the concept that the absolutely indifferent is an idea and there is no one to whom he can complain. Whether they live or die, nature doesn't pay much attention and this makes them angry because they are so helpless and at the mercy of the sea. Men believe they are close to salvation and think they are winning the fight against nature. They continued to struggle to stay on the boat “like circus men”, but this did not dampen their spirits as they watched “the shore grow” and there was “quiet cheer”. For the first time, they have hope that this will survive. “In an hour, perhaps, they will be on the ground.” The men are soaked to the bone. The correspondent reaches into his jacket pocket and takes out eight cigars. He certainly thinks they would be ruined, but “Four of them were drenched by the sea; four of them were perfectly unharmed." They are presented with the numerological possibility of having a fifty percent chance of survival (Billingslea 30). For men, these cigars represented them and their face with adversity. They see it as the four cigars left uncontaminated by the sea like themselves. "After a search, someone took out three matches... and with the certainty of preventing salvation shining in his eyes, he took out the big cigars and judged all men for better or worse." The men are optimistic and smoke cigars to celebrate the victory against their battle with nature until they realize that there is no one on the ground who can save them. Now they think maybe it's the four wet cigars. Birds and a shark taunt the men as they battle the sea and work to stay afloat. “Canton's flannel gulls flew near and far” They alighted on “patches of brown seaweed that rolled on the waves.” The men were jealous of the birds because they were comfortable and at home on the sea. The same sea that represents a constant threat to them. The birds stared at them with “black bead-like eyes.” For those.