The Open Boat Symbolism

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The Open Boat begins with the key to the story, “None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level, and were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them.” This is one of the most important lines in the story. The reader can visualize what scenario the men are facing just by those two sentences. The reader should picture the men stuck at sea wrestling waves during twilight. Later in the story the reader learns that four men were on a ship that sinks in the Coast of Florida. The oiler, cook, correspondent, and the captain find themselves on a rescue boat which they say is smaller than a bath tub. The narration of this story is written in third person although Crane, the author, writes the story based off of a personal …show more content…
He and the men are now facing more than just the harsh ocean waves. He feels alone when he is in the territory of another animal and his attitude changes because he fears this is how he will die. The correspondent’s denial towards beings stuck at sea, changes to acceptance when he panics about his fate. He realizes that the ocean is more powerful and could take any of the men at anytime. The title of the story also relates to the correspondents experience with the shark. The Open Boat is a reference to the men being in a vulnerable situation. The entire story would have a different meaning if “open” was removed from the title. The Open Boat can be called an impressionistic story because of how Crane portrays the ocean throughout the story. He writes in a way that puts an image in the readers mind. When reading one may feel as if they are actually aboard with the other characters. The reader especially gets the feeling that they are part of the story when Crane writes, “When the correspondent again opened his eyes, the sea and sky were each of the gray hue of dawning. Later carmine gold was painted upon the waters” (p.

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