In “The Open Boat,” we read a story that talks about the terror of being shipwrecked at sea. The story mainly takes place on a tiny lifeboat that floats along after the wreck of a larger ship. The men on board are struggling to stay alive in the harsh environment of the sea. The opening line of the story sets the mood of the story for the reader by helping express the emotions that the men are feeling. The story starts by saying,
None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level and remained upon the waves that swept towards them.
Crane uses hyperbole—exaggerating the idea of their vigilance towards the sea to help create a mood of fear in the story. It seems unlikely that the men didn’t “know the color of the sky”—instead, Crane is exaggerating to create the image that the men haven’t stopped watching the waves long enough to even glance at the sky. The fear that they feel, the apprehension at the possibility of their death, is palpable for the reader because of Crane’s description.
Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" begins with the following passage:
None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level, and were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them. These waves were of the hue of slate, save for the tops, which were of foaming white, and all of the men knew the colors of the sea. The horizon narrowed and widened, and dipped and rose, and at all times its edge was jagged with waves that seemed thrust up in points like rocks.
The story relates the tale of Crane's real-life shipwreck in 1897. While traveling from Florida to Cuba, the ship he was traveling on struck a sandbar and sank. Crane and three other men were stranded at sea for 30 hours. One of the men in the lifeboat perished when the craft capsized.
So, reading the passage, we see a grim group of terrified men, their eyes glued to the surrounding water, which is their immediate danger. They are so fixated on the sea and watching for danger or waves that could upset their craft--and possibly for ships that could rescue them--that they have no attention to spare for any details but those of the sea, not even for a glance at the color of the sky. Note how the men are intimately acquainted with the color of the water, however, and with the appearance of the horizon. It is the only thing that concerns them, because it is their immediate source of danger.
The story opens with this passage to emphasize the mental state of the men in the lifeboat, their grim fixation on the surrounding sea, their fear, and also their sense of being lost and isolated out in the open water.
What is the significance of the first sentence of "The Open Boat": "None of them knew the color of the sky"?
Stephen Crane's short story "The Open Boat" begins in the following way:
None of them knew the color of the sky.
In...
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looking at this line only, without looking at the sentences which follow, one could infer a few different things.
First, one could assume ignorance. This could be identified as being that the speaker is ignorant of what color is or how to identify a color.
Second, one could infer that they were unable to see the sky. They may be sheltered from the sky; although the title would speak against this idea ("open boat" refers to no roof being present). Another reason could be that the boat's inhabitants were not looking at the sky. They may not be concerned with the sky, or their focus may be on something else (which the narrator tells readers in the sentences which follow).
Lastly, readers do not know the predicament of "them." While, based upon the title, some readers may correctly assume that the characters are on the water in a boat, the line in question does not give enough information about where the characters are in the boat. The characters could be in the water under an overturned boat; therefore, they cannot see the sky as it (the sky) is hidden from their view.
The sentences which follow the opening sentence allow readers to understand what the circumstances actually are—the men are too concerned with the storm and their eyes are focused on the waves before them.
What is the significance of the first sentence of "The Open Boat": "None of them knew the color of the sky"?
"NONE of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level, and were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them. These waves were of the hue of slate, save for the tops, which were of foaming white, and all of the men knew the colors of the sea. The horizon narrowed and widened, and dipped and rose, and at all times its edge was jagged with waves that seemed thrust up in points like rocks. " (Stephen Crane; "The Open Boat, pg 728)
In the first sentence of the story we are drawn into the struggle of the survivors of a boat in a storm so bad that they can't do anything but row and bail. They can't even see the sky, all they can see is wave after wave. It is night for one thing. The very next part of the story indicates that the sun begins to rise. This opening sentence makes the reader realize that the situation is intense and we, like the occupants of the boat are in for a terrible ordeal. They are intent and focused so hard on the waves that they share with the reader their desire to live.