The Open Boat

The Open Boat

“None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level and were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them. These waves were of the hue of 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. Many a man ought to have a bath-tub larger than the boat which here rode upon the sea”.

Such were the words used at the beginning of the Open Book by Stephen Crane to refer to a group of men traveling by sea in a ten-foot boat surviving only by their wit and through emotional support from one another. These lines are significant in that they establish the conflicts that the correspondent battles within himself. He and the men in the small boat are so focused on survival that they do not allow themselves to look up. The author suggests that none knew the color of the sky to signify their uncertainty of the situation that they had found themselves in. In this context, the color of the sky is a distraction that these men cannot afford. If they were to notice specific things such as the sky color, then they would miss the incoming waves and risk death. This especially applies to the Correspondent. He is often torn between paying attention to his current situation and the thought that, in the end, none of it would be worth it because they might all experience death in spite of their efforts to stay alive. This sparks a feeling of hopelessness in him owing to the fact that he did not intend to be in this situation in the first place.

Their eyes were constantly on the sea to look out for incoming waves. They were all always on high alert. It opens with four men stuck in a small boat. They cannot see the calm blue color of the sky because they are continually experiencing the dark grey clouds as a result of the storms. The first man in the boat is the Cook, who is put in charge of removing water from the boat during the winds to keep the boat from capsizing. The other character is the Oiler, who is initially in charge of the engine room and later steering the boat in the right direction. The Captain was injured during the wreck and is in charge of giving orders while the Correspondent wonders why he is in the situation in the first place. They face the threat of deadly waves, and they live through great exhaustion while they contemplate dying in the open sea.

The story goes step by step through their suffering, demonstrating that hard work does not guarantee survival. However, it does show that their efforts brought them together and created a sense of empathy among them. Their coming together as a community does not guarantee their survival but instead provides the much needed physical and emotional strength that they require to get through their ordeal even during the times when they face the threat of death itself. The author describes a situation in which four different individuals are met by a situation that demands that they work together and see eye to eye if there are to survive.

The hue of slate describes the different shades of slate that the men experience. Even though they have no time to pay attention to the sky, they pay thorough attention to the sea. They have assigned themselves different jobs depending on each one of their skills and talents. The Captain who had already been injured would give instructions on how to row the boat. The Oiler who had been working in the engine room would row the boat. The Cook’s primary duty was to ensure that water could not fill up the boat and cause it to capsize. The Correspondent took some time to understand what his job was when he came to the boat. The hue of slate also represents the different personalities of these men. The Correspondent was one to dismiss empathy initially, yet through the story, he is seen to grow into a different human being. He feels for the suffering of his friends, and in most attacks, he is found awake on the lookout to ensure safety for the other men.

They all knew the color of the sea is a line to describe where their thoughts remained throughout their triumph. This is to describe the amount of attention they paid to the sea. This was the line between life and death, survival, and suffering. They remained on high alert, hoping that they would soon see the shore and have time to look at the sky. The horizon showed the amount of time that they spent on the boat. It rose and fell several times to show the coming of day and the passing of the night. In all these times, the waves seemed to be consistently strong. They would hit the boat like rocks, and once again, the men would be in crisis. The only thing that kept them together was their sense of community and the emotional support that they garnered from one another. Even though out in the sea, temperatures are extremely cold and they are mostly wet from the waves that strike the oat, they huddle together to generate warmth from their bodies. This is also the case when it comes to their duties to row the boat, while some sleep some can take turns rowing so that they can balance the two-out, this way, they inch close and closer towards making it to the shore. The author often highlights the positive things that can be generated from a hard situation encouraging the cultivation of communism and give one another empathy during hard times.

When the author describes the boat in the size of a bath-tub, he intends to show that most people had a bath-tub more massive than the boat these men had to use to survive. In spite of this unfortunate circumstance, they had to make due with whatever they had. The small boat was not ideal for them, yet this is what they had to get across the sea and get to show. The size of the boat was a big lesson for them. It forced them to embrace empathy among one another. Their coming together not only helped ease the physical struggle they felt but the emotional burden that they might not survive. In one scene, the Correspondent is the only one awake when a giant shark threatens them. He is scared for all their lives and is afraid that the giant creature may take any of the men who he views as his brothers. When he realizes that the Captain was awake during the attack from the giant shark, he responds by saying it would have been of great comfort to him during the time to know that someone was also as worried as he was about all their lives.

Work Cited

Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900. The Open Boat. Charlottesville, Va.: Boulder, Colo.: University of Virginia Library; NetLibrary, 1995.