The Open Boat is an 1897 novel based on four men in a life-threatening situation. Crane tells the story about four men, a captain, the oiler, the correspondent, and a cook, who survive after the ship they traveled on sank. Using a single lifeboat, the four men face nature’s harshness as they try to find rescue. However, as their boat capsizes, the three are rescued except for the oiler, who dies. In this story, Crane uses themes of naturalism and atheism, among others. Naturalism in literature is the relationship of humans with nature and how it affects individual characters. Atheism is the absence of belief in the existence of deities and, in this case, God. Crane’s story is commended for a perfect illustration of naturalism but criticized for promoting atheism.
Crane reveals naturalism by showing a strenuous relationship between humans and nature. Criticizers find the illustration of naturalism in this story as a perfect way of showing the uncontrollable relationship between humans and nature. When the ship they were sailing in sank, the four men find rescue from a lifeboat but realize the captain was injured. Hopeful of arriving home safely, the four coordinate to row the boat in search of rescue (Crane 51). They have to fight with nature as it through them heavy tides and waves to prevent the boat from sinking. A bunch of seagulls suddenly surround their boat one seagull rest on the captain. The men interpret the seagulls as a sinister symbol and that they would die in the sea (Crane 30). They find a lighthouse and approach it, only to realize it has been abandoned for years.
Crane perfectly portrays nature as unconcerned and ruthless from the viewpoints readers can relate. He shows nature sending hope and negative messages, causing the men anger and frustration (Antony 19). When the sailors lost hope and were waiting to die, nature sent them killer waves that capsized their boat. The men have no option but to jump out of the boat and swim in the icy water. Crane shows how nature designs human fate as the three are rescued, but the oiler dies.
Crane’s story is negatively criticized for promoting atheism where the characters are desperate and frustrated by the brutality of nature. When the sailors found an abandoned lighthouse, they lost hope (Crane 45). However, they later saw tourists in a distant resort and started waving at them for rescue. The tourists near the shores saw the men waving, assumed they were fishermen and left on their boat. Angry and desperate, the four men questioned the existence of God (Antony 16). They compared how the lighthouse stood still yet empty, with God folding his hands as they suffered in the sea. The correspondent wished to punish nature for its cruelty, only that it is impossible.
The sailing men decided to assume that there was no God and that they were at the mercy of nature. Crane is criticized for assuming that nature has power over God (Antony 19). Indeed, his story indicates that God has no control over man’s fate, but nature does. When the characters question the existence of God and conclude there is no God, Crane directly promotes atheism. Therefore, it would be convenient for his readers to see the power of nature and its influence on subsequent activities at sea. Criticizers mention that God controls humans and nature, unlike what Crane insinuates (Antony 21). Therefore, the idea of Crane promoting atheism is a negative aspect of the story.
Crane is a famous naturalistic writer but is negatively criticized for promoting atheism. His famous story is centered on the theme of nature versus humans. Crane reveals nature through its uncontrollable forces that torment humans. However, by giving nature the power to control human happenings and destiny, the author advocate atheism. Critics indicate that Crane replaced the power of God with those of nature, ignoring that God controls man and nature.
Works Cited
Antony, Louise. “Atheism, Naturalism, and Morality.” Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion, 2nd ed, edited by Michael Peterson and Ray VanArragon, Wiley-Blackwell, 2020, pp. 16-48.
Crane, Stephen. The Open Boat: And Other Tales of Adventure. Lulu Press, 1897.