On Stephen Crane 2

Yuen Man Ho
English 48B
February 23, 2007
Journal #28 Stephen Crane

I. Quote

“During this dismal night, it may be remarked that a man would conclude that it was really the intention of the seven mad gods to drown him, despite the abominable injustice of it. For it was certainly an abominable injustice to drown a man who had worked so hard, so hard. The man felt it would be a crime most unnatural.”

II. Summary

Even though the team had tried so hard rowing towards the shore, it still appeared distant and did not seem to have moved an inch. Drained emotionally and physically, the four men questioned fate. They felt contemptuous; they thought life was so unfair to lead four diligent men to such a pitiful end. Hope was gradually sipping away, just like the energy going away from their hands holding the oars.

III. Response

Before reading Stephen Crane’s writing, the head note of Norton Anthology has given me a brief preview of his personality: “Crane’s poetry, journalism, and fiction clearly demonstrated his religious, social, and literary rebelliousness.” From this quote, I can see why Crane was widely recognized as being rebellious. He was not willing to accept fate. He held stronger faith in man power and the ability of human beings. He expected reward or positive feedback in return of his hard work and effort. Such a to and fro relationship was considered by Crane as justice.

The quote above also demonstrates another belief of Crane. He has shown his attitude towards God from the sentence “a man would conclude that it was really the intention of the seven mad gods to drown him.” Instead of submitting to the widespread concept that God does only good for his creations, he regarded that God also brought about suffering and adversities, like the drowning of men in a storm.