The Open Boat (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Stephen Crane
- First Published: 1898
- Type of Plot: Psychological
- Time of Work: The late 1890's
- Setting: At sea and off the coast of St. Augustine, Florida
- Principal Characters: The correspondent, The oiler “Billy,”, The cook, The captain
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Nature, Autobiography, Human race, Shipwrecks, Boats or boating
- Locales: Oceans, St. Augustine, FL
The Story
Four men are adrift in an open boat, their ship having gone down about dawn. Now, in the clear light of day, the men begin to perceive the full gravity of their situation. The captain is lying injured in the bow of the boat, and the January sea is tossing the men about, rising menacingly over the gunwales. The oiler and the correspondent are rowing, trying to reach Mosquito Light Inlet, where, the cook has said, there is a lifesaving station.
As the day passes, the men grow silent. The captain encourages them. “We’ll get ashore all right,” he says. As...
[The entire page is 1335 words long]
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See Also:
Stephen Crane (Cyclopedia of World Authors)Stephen Crane (Poetry)Stephen Crane (Dictionary of World Biography)Stephen Crane (Short Fiction)Stephen Crane (Long Fiction)Theory of Short Fiction (Topical Overview--Short Fiction)
See Also:
- - Read the The Open Boat text online.
- - The Open Boat summary and study guide in the eNotes.
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