Mr. Cronk
English 11
27 February 2017
Literary critics have looked at many stories and published criticisms about them. Critics often will talk about key literary elements in each of the stories they've reviewed. In Stephen Crane's short story “The Open Boat” the critics looked at how the story relates to a ship called the Commodore which sank shortly before the publication, and how the story contains many symbolic perceptions.
Critics analyzed how the short story “The Open Boat” is related to the events of the sinking of the Commodore. Stephen Crane’s short story “The Open Boat” is based on the real life events of the sinking of The Commodore. Stephen Crane experienced the actual events of the story while he was on board …show more content…
Crane also doesn't provide the inner thoughts to characterize the later fictional story (Wilson 206). The short story is based on the fact that about 24 hours after departing the Commodore was sinking. Most of the crew escaped aboard one of the three lifeboats the ship had available. Crane and two other crew members were left with only a small 10 foot aluminum boat. One man died when the boat swamped near the beach after approximately 30 hours at sea (Robertson 1). In fact in a prefix to the story Crane states that the story is “A tale intended to be after the fact: Being the experience of four men from the sunken steamer Commodore”(Crane 277). The short story “The Open Boat” closely resembles and relates to the events of the sinking of The …show more content…
One of these symbolic perceptions being that while reading the story many symbolic perceptions often occur in one's mind ( Cady 1). Stephen Crane used the men on the boat to represent heroism. In fact, the men on the boat can often be considered a symbol of heroism. This heroism is of simple human endurance against an indifferent universe ( Wilson 206). Critics have argued that “The Open Boat” often represents Stephen Crane to be considered a symbolic naturalist (Cady 1) . In fact, throughout the story many of Cranes descriptions resemble objects from things such as illustrations, poems, and textbooks (Wilson 205). In many of Stephen Crane’s other pieces of literary work he used symbolism to create a sense of depth and realism in the reader's mind (Wilson 207). One of Cranes most famous works of literature “ The Red Badge Of Courage” uses symbolism to connect the reader to the main character to create a sense of realism (Wilson 206). Many critics also have looked at the technical aspects and literary realism of this story. (Wilson 205). “The Open Boat” and “The Red Badge Of Courage” have a connection which crane hinted on with his comment that “ such a story would be instructive for the young” (Wilson 206). Many of Crane’s works of literature use symbolism to create a distinct connection with the reader's mind and the part of the story they're reading (Wilson 203). The short story