DOCSLIB.ORG

The Open Boat Stephen Crane 1871–1900

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Open Boat Stephen Crane 1871–1900 The Rise of NaTURALISM The Open BoaT READING 2B RELAte the TEXT ShorT StORy by Stephen CrANE STRUCTURes of mYthic literATURe TO 20th and 21st cENTURy American NOVELS, plaYS, or films. 2C RELATE -EET the AUTHOR the main ideas found in a LITERARy work To primary sourCE DOCUMENts from its historical and CULTURal setting. 5A EVALUAte hoW Stephen Crane 1871–1900 DIFFERENT literARy elements shape the author’s porTRAYal of plot and When Crane’s novel The Red Badge of more interesting study.” And study it he setting in wORKs of fiction. Courage was published in 1895, it caused did—first as a freelance journalist living a literary sensation. Critics hailed its in the slums of New York City’s Bowery, unromanticized portrayal of a young then as a reporter traveling in Mexico and soldier’s struggles during one battle of the the American Wild West, and finally as Civil War. As one reviewer exclaimed, a war correspondent shipping out to hot “The style is as rough as it is direct. spots in Cuba and Greece. Twelve years of DId You know? . But the original power of the book living on the edge gave Crane material not is great enough to set a new fashion in only for numerous news articles but also Stephen Crane . literature.” War veterans, unimpressed for three novels, several volumes of poetry, • SPENT most of his TWo by literary fashion, were struck by the and some of the best-known short stories semesters in cOLLEGe PLAying baseball. graphic depiction of combat. So vivid in American literature, including “The was the battlefield experience in the novel Open Boat,” “The Blue Hotel,” and “The • claimed THAT his understanding of that they assumed the story was a factual Bride Comes to Yellow Sky.” eyewitness account. But the author was COMBAT in The Red The COST of AdvENTURe Adventure often only 23 years old at the time and had "ADGe of COURAGE came comes at a price. Biographers cite the FRom wAtching football not yet seen war. Such was the power of deprivations of Crane’s years in the New Games. Crane’s imagination that he was able in his York slums, the dangers of traveling to • WRote poWERful poetrY, short life to create works of great integrity far-off places, and his own neglect of his including “Do Not WEEP, as well as artistic force. Maiden, for War Is Kind.” health as contributing to his death from Living on the EDGe Born in Newark, tuberculosis at age 28. But Crane had New Jersey, the youngest of 14 children, matured far beyond his years. True to his Stephen Crane came from a family early intentions, he was a great student of ofof writers. His father, a MethodistMeth humanity, and he developed a philosophy mminister,inister, and his mother bboth described by one critic as a “bold and wrote religious articles, aand two robust humanism.” As a naturalist ooff his brothers were jojournalists.u writer, Crane believed that nature was a A stint in military schschoolo powerful force that shaped our lives. But nnourishedourished the teenage Crane’s as a humanist, he also had faith in his iinterestnterest in the Civil WWar,a but fellow humans’ ability to act responsibly collegecollege life bored him. “Not“ and honestly. tthathat I disliked books,” he insisted, bbutut that “humanity was a much Author Online Go To THINKCENTRal.COM. KEYWORD: HML11-734 734 literary analysis: naturalism Naturalism is an offshoot of realism, the 19th-century literary movement that examines the effect of natural and social forces on the individual. While naturalism aims to depict Does people accurately, it tends toward pessimism by showing nature human beings at the mercy of the environment and their own instincts. With an emphasis on setting, theme, conflict, and irony, naturalism paints human destiny as beyond individual play fair? control. A lioness kills an antelope. An earthquake Naturalist writers often chose mythic situations, retelling destroys one small town and leaves ancient stories from a naturalist perspective. For example, other nearby towns untouched. stories about individuals at the mercy of the ocean are included Diseases kill millions worldwide. Does in the myths of many ancient cultures. “The Open Boat” is this seem fair? Does nature stack the a naturalistic version of such a story. As you read, look for deck against certain creatures? As one characteristics of naturalism in the story, and think about how of the leading writers in the naturalist Crane’s story compares to more recent stories about individuals movement, Stephen Crane addresses lost at sea. this issue in “The Open Boat.” reading skill: analyze descriptive language DISCUSS With a small group, discuss Naturalist writers use vivid and detailed descriptive language how you explain the inequities found in in their study of human behavior. Effective description relies on nature. First, list some specific natural various literary elements. disasters or dangers that you know of. Then, discuss the reasons why each one • imagery—descriptive words that create sensory experiences may have happened the way it did. • figurative language—language that goes beyond the literal • tone—a writer’s attitude toward the subject • mood—the feeling the writer creates for the reader As you read, record examples of Crane’s use of these elements. vocabulary in context Match each vocabulary word in the first column with the word or phrase in the second column that is closest in meaning. 1. dearth a. comply 2. ingenuously b. abnormality 3. aberration c. raucous 4. acquiesce d. compel 5. motley e. shortage 6. epithet f. relief 7. respite g. insulting name 8. obstreperous h. naively 9. coerce i. assorted Complete the activities in your Reader/Writer Notebook. 735 TX_L11PE-u04s21-brBoa.indd 735 9/2/09 12:06:34 PM 34%0(EN C2!.% BACKGROUNd On New Year’s EVe, 1896, Stephen Crane was TRAVeling on the ship #OMMODORe To Cuba To rEPORT on an impending rEVolution. Loaded with ammunition and Cuban rEBELS, the ship was damaged by a sandbar outside of JackSONville, Florida, and TWo daYs later sank in the open sea. Most surVIVors filled the lifEBOATS, but Crane and four others ended up in a much smaller boaT. This is the stORy he wrote about his HARROwing ordeal. It has been called one of the world’s grEAT shorT stories. A tale intended to be after the fact. Being the experience of four men from the Analyze Visuals sunk steamer Commodore. Look aT the arT on page 737. AparT from the men’s APPEARANCe, whaT do the I Colors of the wAter and None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level, and were the sky sugGEST about fastened upon the waves that swept toward them. These waves were the hue of their situation? Explain. 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. A A $%3#2)04)6% Many a man ought to have a bathtub larger than the boat which here rode ,!.'5!'% The first parAGRaph is not 10 upon the sea. These waves were most wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall, Really about the color of and each froth top was a problem in small boat navigation. the skY. WhaT does Crane EMPHASIZe by beginning the stORy this wAy? German Shipwreck Survivors (image manipulated), Achille Beltrame. Engraving in Italian newspaper La Domenica del Corriere, 736 unit 4: regionalism and naturalism February 1941. © Dagli Orti/The Art Archive. The cook squatted in the bottom and looked with both eyes at the six inches of gunwale1 which separated him from the ocean. His sleeves were rolled over his fat forearms, and the two flaps of his unbuttoned vest dangled as he bent to bail out the boat. Often he said: “Gawd! That was a narrow clip.” As he remarked it he invariably gazed eastward over the broken sea. The oiler,2 steering with one of the two oars in the boat, sometimes raised himself suddenly to keep clear of water that swirled in over the stern. It was a thin little oar and it seemed often ready to snap. 20 The correspondent, pulling at the other oar, watched the waves and wondered Language Coach why he was there. WORd Definitions 7illy The injured captain, lying in the bow, was at this time buried in that profound nilly (line 24) means dejection and indifference which comes, temporarily at least, to even the bravest “SPONtaneously” or “without rEGARd To and most enduring when, willy nilly, the firm fails, the army loses, the ship goes CHOICE.” How do you down. The mind of the master of a vessel is rooted deep in the timbers of her, think the captain, the though he command for a day or a decade, and this captain had on him the stern person ultimately impression of a scene in the grays of dawn of seven turned faces, and later a stump Responsible for the ship, Would feel when his ship of a topmast with a white ball on it that slashed to and fro at the waves, went Goes down? low and lower, and down. Thereafter there was something strange in his voice. 30 Although steady, it was deep with mourning, and of a quality beyond oration or tears. B B .!452!,)3- “Keep’er a little more south, Billie,” said he. RERead lines 22–31. WhaT “‘A little more south,’ sir,” said the oiler in the stern.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Wide Angle a Journal of Literature and Film
    Wide Angle a journal of literature and film Volume 5, Issue 1 Fall 2015 Published by Department of English Samford University 2 Mission Statement Literature and film continually reimagine an ever-changing world, and through our research we discover our relationships to those art forms and the cultures they manifest. Publishing one issue each semester, Wide Angle serves as a conduit for the expression and critique of that imagination. A joint publication between English majors and faculty, the journal embodies the interdisciplinary nature of the Department of English at Samford University. It provides a venue for undergraduate research, an opportunity for English majors to gain experience in the business of editing and publishing, and a forum for all students, faculty, and staff to publish their best work. As a wide-angle lens captures a broad field of vision, this journal expands its focus to include critical and creative works, namely academic essays, book and film reviews, and commentaries, as well as original poetry, short fiction and non-fiction, and screenplays. Staff 2015-‘16 General Editor………………………Dr. Geoffrey A. Wright Managing Editor……………………Caleb Punt Assistant Managing Editor…………Bekah Ray Literature Editor…………………....Rae Patterson Film Editor………………………....Mack Sexton Creative Writing Editor…………….Laura Bone Copyright © 2015 Wide Angle, Samford University. All rights reserved. Wide Angle 3 Contents Special Series: Harper Lee and Her Legacy Edward Colston, Atticus Finch, and the Human Condition Laura Ann Prickett…………………………………………………………………………..5
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Stephen Crane David Brannan This Paper Was Written for Dr
    The Impact of Stephen Crane David Brannan This paper was written for Dr. Williams! Senior Thesis and Presentation course. It is presented here in abstract. In this thesis I aim to show how American writer Stephen Crane impacted American literature through his unique style and approach to writing. His con- tributions and influence are quite remarkable considering he died at the age of only twenty-eight. Furthermore, to understand how Crane formed the opinions he held as well as developed the style of writing he exhibited, it is important to establish his background. This includes not only the forces at work on Crane during his childhood, but the developing social structure of the world around him as he matured into an adult. Though he rejected and rebelled against his Christian upbringing, it would remain a part of him forever and is very apparent throughout his work. Furthermore, the loss of several loved ones very close to him would also shape his attitudes and opinions about the world. However, the force most obviously working on Crane during his life was certainly his own sense of curiosity and adventure. It is what brought him to New York and inspired him to partake in many adventures around the world. Furthermore, it was his intense need to share these experiences with the world that drove him to write. His writing, like his lifestyle, was very free, unique, and not governed by a set of rules. Although he is commonly classified as a realist, naturalist, or impressionist, he claimed to be none of the three because he refused to be restricted to the conventions that go along with each.
    [Show full text]
  • “The Open Boat” and Jack London's “T
    وزارة التعليم العالي والبحث العلمي MINISTERE DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR ET DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE جامعت مولود معمري-تيسي وزو UNIVERSITE MOULOUD MAMMERI DE TIZI OUZOU كليت اﻵداب واللغاث FACULTE DES LETTRES ET DES LANGUES DEPARTEMENT : ANGLAIS Domaine : Lettre et langues Filière: Langue Anglaise Spécialité: Littératures Comparées Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For theDegree ofMaster in English Title: A Comparative Study of the Manifestations of Naturalism in Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat” and Jack London’s “To Build a Fire”. Presented by: . Supervised by: -FERHATI Said -HATEM Youcef Board of Examiners: Chair:MrBIA Med Ameziane, M A A, department of English Supervisor: MrHATEM Youcef, Grade M AA, department of English Examiner: MrsTABTI Kahina, Grade M A A , department of English Promotion: June, 2016 N° d’Ordre: N°deserie: Laboratoire de domiciliation du master :Etudes des Langues et Culture Etrangères Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank Allah, the Almighty for his help and grace. The completion of the present dissertation is made possible thanks to the support I received from all my teachers especially my supervisor MrHATEM Youcef who has been a valuable asset for me in accomplishing this work. Most of all, I am indebted to my parents, relatives and friends for their help, advice, encouragement and generosity. I To My dear family especially my parents, brothers and sisters My relatives wherever they are, My friendsAbdelkrim ,Somboul and his son Adam. II Contents Acknowledgments
    [Show full text]
  • The Open Boat
    The Open Boat by Stephen Crane All new material ©2009 Enotes.com Inc. or its Licensors. All Rights Reserved. No portion may be reproduced without permission in writing from the publisher. For complete copyright information please see the online version of this text at http://www.enotes.com/open-boat-text Table of Contents Notes.....................................................................................................................................................................1 Stephen Crane Biography..................................................................................................................................2 Reading Pointers for Sharper Insights.............................................................................................................3 The Open Boat.....................................................................................................................................................4 i Notes What is a literary classic and why are these classic works important to the world? A literary classic is a work of the highest excellence that has something important to say about life and/or the human condition and says it with great artistry. A classic, through its enduring presence, has withstood the test of time and is not bound by time, place, or customs. It speaks to us today as forcefully as it spoke to people one hundred or more years ago, and as forcefully as it will speak to people of future generations. For this reason, a classic is said to have universality. This anthology
    [Show full text]
  • Analysis of the Naturalism in the Open Boat
    International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science Vol. 6 No. 9 November 2018 Analysis of the Naturalism in The Open Boat Wang Meng College of Foreign Language, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China Email: [email protected] Abstract American writer Stephen Crane has the reputation of the pioneer of naturalist. In his short story The Open Boat, naturalism occurs through the whole story, symbolism and impressionism still play an important part in creating the work. Running into three parts, this thesis analyzes the naturalism in The Open Boat in detail, the first part mainly introduces to public naturalism and the naturalism of Emile Zola and Darwinism. The second part introduces Stephen Crane and The Open Boat in order to analyze the naturalism in all-sided ways. The three part is very important, the thesis analyzes the naturalism from two angles, the one is writing technique, including symbolism, impressionism and psychological realism. The other is character, the naturalism is highlighted from the description of character’s eulogization, alienation and struggle. In The Open Boat, we recognize human nature from an objective perspective and reveal a much more realistic world. Keywords: StephenCrane, Naturalism, The Open Boat. 1 Introduction In literature, naturalism refers to the theory that literary composition should aim at a detached, scientific objectivity in the treatment of natural man. 1.1 Introduction to Naturalism It developed on the basis of realism but went a step further than it in portraying social reality. Naturalism was a new and harsher realism. Basic Ideas of naturalism are bellows: Our human desires are strong, but always are diminished by the crude, godless, hostile and indifferent universe, 27 International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science ISSN: 2307-924X www.ijlass.org so life is never an easy thing, but a struggle for survival.
    [Show full text]
  • Stephen Crane, Journalist: a Prismatic Career in the Gilded Age
    Central Washington University ScholarWorks@CWU All Master's Theses Master's Theses 1963 Stephen Crane, Journalist: A Prismatic Career in the Gilded Age Donna M. Hughes Central Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the Liberal Studies Commons Recommended Citation Hughes, Donna M., "Stephen Crane, Journalist: A Prismatic Career in the Gilded Age" (1963). All Master's Theses. 401. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/401 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses at ScholarWorks@CWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@CWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STEPHEN CRANE, JOURNALIST: A PRISMATIC CAREER IN THE GILDED AGE ~l '~~t'~~-·. l.\W''"l'~' ... ·'tf, A Thesis Presented to the Graduate Faculty Central Washington State College In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Education by Donna M. Hughes December 1963 'FJOl1::>31103 1Vl::J3dS <;.fh3 H £. tl..l.. 9 Cl'I APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY ________________________________ David Burt, COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN _________________________________ Gerald L. Moulton _________________________________ Keith Rinehart ACKNOWLEDGMENT This thesis is the outgrowth o! a Crane-Hemingway seminar conducted at Central Washington College in the summer of 1962. I am profoundly indebted to David Burt for his inspiration, counsel, and criticism. He encour­ aged this study by a willingness to listen and by stimu­ lating inquiry. His scholarship concerning Ernest Hemingway made his suggestions invaluable and enriched my insight into Crane's writing.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mirrors of Naturalism: Stephen Crane's Pragmatic Determinism
    The Mirrors of Naturalism: Stephen Crane’s Pragmatic Determinism Anthony Manganaro A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2017 Reading Committee: Robert Abrams, chair Monika Kaup Mark Patterson Program Authorized to Offer Degree: English © 2017 Anthony Manganaro University of Washington Abstract The Mirrors of Naturalism: Stephen Crane’s Pragmatic Determinism Anthony Manganaro Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Robert Abrams English My dissertation contributes to current scholarship on nineteenth-century American naturalism by arguing that the emergent theories of determinism and pragmatism were antithetical to, and yet dependent upon, one another. On the one hand, Stephen Crane’s fiction reveals determinism’s heavy weight upon the naturalist genre (the sense that humans cannot affect their worlds), yet unlike Frank Norris or Jack London, for instance, Crane innovatively employs pragmatic elements that work against the very deterministic frameworks that structure his stories. By tracing the dialectic between these theories, I demonstrate how Crane’s fiction not only reveals the destructive relationship between nature and humanity but also, in his pragmatic suspicion of static concepts, the failure of language to accurately interpret the world of the fin de siècle. My lens provides for more complex interpretations of Crane in addition to Theodore Dreiser in ways that highlight how the deterministic yet pluralistic character of naturalism serves
    [Show full text]
  • STEPHEN CRANE an Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Scholarship: an Update
    STEPHENCRANE An Annotated Bibliography of Secondary Scholarship: An Update The following materid supplements my earlier bibliography (New Yo& G.K. Hall, 1992). I have retained the subject headings and the numbering indicates where each annotation will appear in any antici- pated revised edition of my 1992 volume. Biography l.la Benfey, Christopher. The Double Life of Stephen Crane. New York: Knopf, 1992. xiv+294. A fascinating and seminal biography. Benfey's thesis is that the secret to understanding Crane is to notice that he first imagined events and then he lived them, seeking verification or correction of his hypothe- ses. "The shape of Crane's career has a peculiar fascination for the biographer. If most writers tend to write about their expe- rience, however disguised, Crane did the reverse; he uied to live what he'd already written. For Crane lived his life backwards, or rather he wrote it forwards." This challenging and fruitful thesis has a basis in a number of events and works in Crane: he imagined slum life in Maggie before he moved there; he depicted combat in Red Badge before he became a war correspondent; and he wrote several shipwreck narratives before he was forced to endure "The Open Boat." That nucleus aside, Benfey's thesis fades out in Chapters 3 and 4 and disappears from Chapters 5 and 6. Solomon's thesis (2.15) that he'sbest works are parodies of nineteenth-cennuy genres had a similar strong-start-then-fade pattern. The sustainability of Benfey's thesis aside, his book remains a provocative and stimulating account of Crane's life with the considerable added bonus of a number of elegant and perceptive comments on themes in Crane's works.
    [Show full text]
  • Naturalism As Reflected in Stephen Crane ‘S Short Story the Open Boat
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sebelas Maret Institutional Repository NATURALISM AS REFLECTED IN STEPHEN CRANE ‘S SHORT STORY THE OPEN BOAT Minor Thesis Submitted as a Partial Fulfillment of Requirement for the Sarjana Sastra Degree In English Department. Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University By: ERNI YUSRIANA C.1398010 THE FACULTY OF LETTERS AND FINE ARTS SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY SURAKARTA 2003 Approved to be examined before The Board of Examiners Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University Thesis supervisors: 1. Dra. Tri Retno Pudyastuti,M. Hum (…………………) NIP. 131 472 639 2. Dra. Nani Sukarni,MS (…………………) NIP. 130 902 534 ii Accepted and Approved by The Board of Examiners Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts, Sebelas Maret University On : April 2003 The Board Examiners 1. Drs. Riyadi Santosa,M. Ed ( ) Chairman NIP. 131 569 264 2. Drs. Agus Hari Wibowo, MA ( ) Secretary NIP. 132 044 364 3. Dra. Tri Retno Pudyastuti,M. Hum ( ) First Examiner NIP. 131 472 639 4. Dra. Nani Sukarni, MS ( ) Second Examiner NIP. 130 902 534 Dean of Faculty of Letters and Fine Arts Sebelas Maret University DR. Maryono Dwiraharjo, SU NIP. 130 675 167 iii Motto- Hai orang-orang yang beriman, Jadikanlah sabar dan sholat sebagai penolongmu, Sesungguhnya Aiiah beserta orang-orang yang sabar ( QS. Al Baqarah 153) Mulai dari diri sendiri Mulai dari yang kecil Mulai saat ini ( KH. Abdullah Gymnastiar ) iv Dedication Faithfully, This minor thesis is dedicated to : - My beloved Bapak and Ibu - My dearest sister and brother - All friends who always love me v ACKNOWLEDGMENT 'Alhamdulillahirabbil' alamin', a lot of thanks to Allah SWT, for only by his blessing and mercy so that this minor thesis could be finally completed.
    [Show full text]
  • Alternative Constructions of Masculinity in American
    ALTERNATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS OF MASCULINITY IN AMERICAN LITERARY NATURALISM A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH BY RYAN D. STRYFFELER DISSERTATION ADVISOR: DR. KECIA MCBRIDE BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA DECEMBER 2010 2 Dedication I would like to dedicate this finished project to this man’s best friends, Montana and Jackson, for two reasons. First, because neither of them will ever read it, and so will never indulge in the impulse to let the deficiencies of its content reflect back upon the author’s person. Secondly, the time I spent in completing this project was time taken away from them, away from the woods and trails we call both home and sanctuary. Thank you, boys, for your companionship and patience with me over the years. Your loyalty means more to me than you will ever know. 3 ABSTRACT DISSERTATION/THESIS/RESEARCH PAPER/CREATIVE PROJECT: Alternative Constructions of Masculinity in American Literary Naturalism. STUDENT: Ryan D. Stryffeler DEGREE: Doctor of Philosophy in English COLLEGE: Sciences and Humanities DATE: December, 2010 PAGES: 291 This project asserts that male Naturalist authors were not “hypermasculine” acolytes of strident manhood, but instead offer alternative constructions which they portray as less traumatic and more cohesive than prevailing social notions of normative male behavior. I maintain that the rise of the concept of manhood advocated by Theodore Roosevelt in the early decades of the twentieth century contributed to this misconception, for it generated a discourse of “manly” individualism which became equated with socially acceptable performances of masculinity for many Americans.
    [Show full text]
  • The Library of America Interviews Christopher Benfey About Stephen Crane
    The Library of America interviews Christopher Benfey about Stephen Crane In connection with the publication in April 2011 of Stephen Crane: Complete Poems , edited by Christopher Benfey , Rich Kelley conducted this exclusive interview for The Library of America e-Newsletter. Sign up for the free monthly e-Newsletter at www.loa.org . Stephen Crane: Complete Poems collects all the poems that appeared in the two volumes Crane published during his life— The Black Riders and Other Lines in 1895 and War Is Kind in 1899—and another thirty-three uncol - lected poems. Most readers seem especially to like his first collection. How do the two differ? Crane wrote the sixty or so poems of Black Riders in a single period of cre - ative intensity, during the first three months of 1894, when he was living hand to mouth as a freelance newspaper writer in New York City. It was like Rilke in Duino or Van Gogh at Arles, with the creative lightning striking again and again. Crane felt, at the time, that he could “turn the poetic spout on or off.” The book has a tight unity of form and focus (mainly brief, free-verse parables of an ironic bent). Crane was aiming to shock; in his writing he wanted, he said, to be “unmis - takable.” And he achieved what he was after in Black Riders . Nobody else could have written poems like these. Here’s one of my all-time favorites, three lines of blistering warning about the self-fulfilling perils of paranoia: A man feared that he might find an assassin; Another that he might find a victim.
    [Show full text]
  • The 'Oceanic Feeling'
    FEATURES THE ‘OCEANIC FEELING’ in Stephen Crane’s The Open Boat and S. T. Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner tephen Crane’s The Open Boat (1897) gives a fictional- Claudia Ioana Doroholschi Sized account of his shipwreck and subsequent rescue West University after the steamboat Commodore, on which he was heading of TimiŞoara to Cuba to act as a correspondent in the Cuban War, ran into bad Romania weather off the coast of Florida. The story focuses on the hours during which four men (the captain, a cook, an oiler, and the cor- respondent) struggle to reach shore in a ten-foot dinghy. Crane also wrote a journalistic account of the same event (Stephen Crane’s Own Story), which focuses on the events leading up to the four men’s abandonment of the Commodore, and announces that the struggle for survival after the shipwreck will be dealt with separately (Crane, 1984a). At several points in the story, The Open Boat seems to refer- ence Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Although we have no direct account of Crane reading Coleridge (as indeed we have little direct information on Crane’s life and thought in general), literary references and allusions in The Open Boat have been noticed before—including references to Coleridge (e.g. Dendinger, 1968, who reads The Open Boat as a parody of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, or Hoyle, 1969, addressing the issue in the [unpublished] master’s thesis). Indeed, in the short story under study there are several striking scenes which seem to offer direct hints at The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
    [Show full text]