I enjoyed reading "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane. He filled his story with much detail, and I was able to lose myself in it. Whether from these details, or the fact that I have spent a lot of time on boats (I grew up on Lake Michigan), I could feel the hardship the men in the dinghy were going through as they tried to stay afloat. I know how hard it is to row against the current and waves. As the story progressed I could imagine the frustration the men felt while waiting for someone to rescue them. They were stuck out beyond the breaking point of the waves and needed a larger boat to come and transport them safely to shore. When they see the man on the shore their excitement grows in anticipation of rescue, but the men in the boat soon realize that the man on the beach, along with several others who have now joined him, are simply tourists and not rescuers. This throws the four men into laments of frustration. They cannot believe that they have made it so far only to perish within site of land and safety.
The ending of the story is bittersweet. While most of the men made it through the surf, the oiler did not. In the second to the last paragraph Crane casts a somber light on what should have been joyous proceedings by having the body of the deceased carried close by the survivors. This was a powerful way to end the story as it made me realize that life is precious and the power of nature is great.
Stephen Crane accomplished much in the little time he was alive. His writing was powerful and detail oriented. I read "Maggie, A Girl of the Streets" when I was in high school and enjoyed it as much as the readings we had this week by Crane. While his writing is rather dark, I like the stark reality Crane portrays in his writings.
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