On Stephen Crane 1

Yuen Man Ho
English 48B
February 23, 2007
Journal #27 Stephen Crane

I. Quote

“The correspondent, pulling at the other oar, watched the waves and wondered why he was there.”

II. Summary

In the story of “Open Boat,” Stephen Crane recalled his experience of almost drowning to death in the storm. There were four men on the boat: captain, cook, oiler and him. Despite the immense adversity and their fragile bodies, the four of them bonded as a group, displayed strong spirit of brotherhood, supported each other and finally managed to save themselves from the impending fate of death.

While depicting the responses of the other three in view of the ferocious waves, he told the readers that all he was thinking of at that time was not the helpless and menacing situation, but the question of why he was there.

III. Response

I was curious about Stephen Crane’s response to such a supposedly frightening and threatening situation. Instead of acting fearfully like the other three, he appeared to be extremely calm. He seemed not to have forgotten his role as a correspondent, and continued to observe and record. His reaction reminded me of the Mr. Oakhurst in Bret Harte’s “The Outcasts of Poker Flat.” While both of them were placed in an adverse condition, they did not disperse their usual calmness. Nevertheless, unlike Mr. Oakhurst, Stephen Crane is not a fictional character! I cannot but admire such a quality of him!

Such an adorable quality of the author is evident throughout the story. He carefully observed his surroundings, including the expressions, actions and conversations of the other three men as well as the changing context of the environment. Another quote that made my jaws dropped was found later in the passage. He wrote that “Viewed from a balcony, the whole thing would doubtlessly have been weirdly picturesque. But he men in the boat had no time to see it, and if they had had leisure there were other things to occupy their minds.” From this particular quote, it is apparent that he has already detached himself from the group. He sounded as if he was a narrator not threatened by the fierce storm.

I conjecture that it is such detachment from the environment that makes Crane a widely popular writer. Since he did not indulge his own emotions and feelings too deeply into any emergence, he was able to recount the meticulous details of any story and observe without interference the reactions of people to fate or nature.