The Open Boat Response

"The Open Boat" Response

1. The story begins in the middle of things, with the crew already stranded at sea. What details does Crane provide about the shipwreck? Which does he leave out? In fact Crane never directly goes into the subject of the shipwreck, however he begins the story by describing the smaller than a bath-tub like, thin, rocky boat in which they are now on in the dreadful sea.

2. The swim for shore is described only from the correspondent's point of view. What details are there of the other passenger's swims? Use what information you have to piece together an explanation for the oiler's death. From the correspondent's point of view when they were swimming for shore at first the oiler was ahead, the cook was bulging out of the water while swimming, and the captain hanging with his one good hand to the dingey. I feel that the oiler died because he was not communicating sufficiently with the other passengers after they had been tumbled into the see. You see everyone was giving each other advice on staying alive in the water however their was no dialogue between the oiler.

3. Explain what Crane achieves by repeating certain passages of dialogue, reflection, and description within the story. What are some of these repeated lines and how many times do they recur? Do their meanings change with repition or with the changing contexts in which they occur? By repeating certain passages of dialogue, reflection, and description within the story Crane helps to play a role in understanding the central meaning in "The Open Boat". Some of these repeated lines are "Funny they don't see us" and "If I am going to be drowned". Their meanings change with the contexts in which they progress to occur in.

4. Only the oiler is ever called by his name in the story, and then never by the narrator. What is the significance of naming just the one character? Discuss this significance in light of Billie's death. The significance of naming just one character is for rememberance. You see although Billie was not the captain he held that ship together, and served as a leader for everyone else leading them to safety.

5. This story was written in 1897. Consider how the era in which it was written affected its language. What words appear that you don't know without the aid of a dictionary? Are there any that sound old-fashioned to you? The only word that appeared that I didn't know without the aid of a dictionary was the word dingey I've never heard of it, and as far as old-fashioned word their weren't many of them in my opinion.

6. What is the narrator's role in the story? How would you describe the narrative distance? In other words , how close is the tale teller to the story and its characters? Does the distance change over the course of the story?.........

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