Exploring the Text

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  1. What is the effect of the opening paragraph? How does it set the scene for the entire story?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What is the effect of the opening paragraph? How does it set the scene for the entire story?
  2. What is the narrative stance in this story? How do you account for conditional statements—set here in italic—such as “In the wan light, the faces of the men must have been gray. Their eyes must have glinted” (par. 11) and “It was probably splendid. It was probably glorious, this play of the free sea, wild with lights of emerald and white and amber” (par. 21)? Why does Stephen Crane introduce such uncertainty?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What is the narrative stance in this story? How do you account for conditional statements—set here in italic—such as “In the wan light, the faces of the men must have been gray. Their eyes must have glinted” (par. 11) and “It was probably splendid. It was probably glorious, this play of the free sea, wild with lights of emerald and white and amber” (par. 21)? Why does Stephen Crane introduce such uncertainty?
  3. What is “the subtle brotherhood of men” (par. 44) that Crane’s narrator refers to? How is this camaraderie developed into a theme in the story?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What is “the subtle brotherhood of men” (par. 44) that Crane’s narrator refers to? How is this camaraderie developed into a theme in the story?
  4. What is the importance of the narrator’s imagined “reflections of the men,” which “might be formulated thus: ‘If I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned…She dare not drown me. She cannot drown me. Not after all this work’” (par. 72)?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What is the importance of the narrator’s imagined “reflections of the men,” which “might be formulated thus: ‘If I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned…She dare not drown me. She cannot drown me. Not after all this work’” (par. 72)?
  5. Why does the correspondent “mysteriously” recall a verse he “had even forgotten that he had forgotten” (par. 180)? What is the meaning of the description that he was moved “by a profound and perfectly impersonal comprehension” (par. 183)?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Why does the correspondent “mysteriously” recall a verse he “had even forgotten that he had forgotten” (par. 180)? What is the meaning of the description that he was moved “by a profound and perfectly impersonal comprehension” (par. 183)?
  6. Why are the characters referred to by their function rather than their given names in most of the story? Why is the oiler, Billie, the exception?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Why are the characters referred to by their function rather than their given names in most of the story? Why is the oiler, Billie, the exception?
  7. The story is divided into seven sections or chapters. What is the structural principle governing these divisions? What titles might you give each?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - The story is divided into seven sections or chapters. What is the structural principle governing these divisions? What titles might you give each?
  8. The ocean dominates this story from the very first paragraph to the last. How does Crane portray the sea in this story? Cite specific passages of description, paying close attention to figurative language.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - The ocean dominates this story from the very first paragraph to the last. How does Crane portray the sea in this story? Cite specific passages of description, paying close attention to figurative language.
  9. Early in the story, we are told that the captain “chuckled in a way that expressed humor, contempt, tragedy, all in one” (par. 25). Identify at least one passage and discuss how Crane shows the complexity of feeling multiple emotions simultaneously, especially conflicting emotions. Consider instances that include humor in this life-and-death situation.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Early in the story, we are told that the captain “chuckled in a way that expressed humor, contempt, tragedy, all in one” (par. 25). Identify at least one passage and discuss how Crane shows the complexity of feeling multiple emotions simultaneously, especially conflicting emotions. Consider instances that include humor in this life-and-death situation.
  10. Crane does not depict nature as an entirely hostile force in “The Open Boat”; he shows how it both impedes and assists the four men. What details illustrate the varying roles nature plays in this story? Ultimately, what conclusion does the correspondent reach about the relationship between humans and nature? Consider the ending in your response.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Crane does not depict nature as an entirely hostile force in “The Open Boat”; he shows how it both impedes and assists the four men. What details illustrate the varying roles nature plays in this story? Ultimately, what conclusion does the correspondent reach about the relationship between humans and nature? Consider the ending in your response.
  11. Explain why you believe that the worldview Crane presents in this story is ultimately optimistic or pessimistic.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Explain why you believe that the worldview Crane presents in this story is ultimately optimistic or pessimistic.
  12. Following is a section from Crane’s account of the sinking of the Commodore. How does it differ in style and tone from the short story? What seeds of the story do you detect in this nonfiction report?

    The cook let go of the line.

    We rowed around to see if we could not get a line from the chief engineer, and all this time, mind you, there were no shrieks, no groans, but silence, silence and silence, and then the Commodore sank. She lurched to windward, then swung afar back, righted and dove into the sea, and the rafts were suddenly swallowed by this frightful maw of the ocean. And then by the men on the ten-foot dingy were words said that were still not words, something far beyond words.

    The lighthouse of Mosquito Inlet stuck up above the horizon like the point of a pin. We turned our dingy toward the shore. The history of life in an open boat for thirty hours would no doubt be very instructive for the young, but none is to be told here now. For my part I would prefer to tell the story at once, because from it would shine the splendid manhood of Captain Edward Murphy and of William Higgins, the oiler, but let it suffice at this time to say that when we were swamped in the surf and making the best of our way toward the shore the captain gave orders amid the wildness of the breakers as clearly as if he had been on the quarterdeck of a battleship.

    John Kitchell of Daytona came running down the beach, and as he ran the air was filled with clothes. If he had pulled a single lever and undressed, even as the fire horses harness, he could not to me seem to have stripped with more speed. He dashed into the water and grabbed the cook. Then he went after the captain, but the captain sent him to me, and then it was that we saw Billy Higgins lying with his forehead on sand that was clear of the water, and he was dead.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Following is a section from Crane’s account of the sinking of the Commodore. How does it differ in style and tone from the short story? What seeds of the story do you detect in this nonfiction report?The cook let go of the line.We rowed around to see if we could not get a line from the chief engineer, and all this time, mind you, there were no shrieks, no groans, but silence, silence and silence, and then the Commodore sank. She lurched to windward, then swung afar back, righted and dove into the sea, and the rafts were suddenly swallowed by this frightful maw of the ocean. And then by the men on the ten-foot dingy were words said that were still not words, something far beyond words.The lighthouse of Mosquito Inlet stuck up above the horizon like the point of a pin. We turned our dingy toward the shore. The history of life in an open boat for thirty hours would no doubt be very instructive for the young, but none is to be told here now. For my part I would prefer to tell the story at once, because from it would shine the splendid manhood of Captain Edward Murphy and of William Higgins, the oiler, but let it suffice at this time to say that when we were swamped in the surf and making the best of our way toward the shore the captain gave orders amid the wildness of the breakers as clearly as if he had been on the quarterdeck of a battleship.John Kitchell of Daytona came running down the beach, and as he ran the air was filled with clothes. If he had pulled a single lever and undressed, even as the fire horses harness, he could not to me seem to have stripped with more speed. He dashed into the water and grabbed the cook. Then he went after the captain, but the captain sent him to me, and then it was that we saw Billy Higgins lying with his forehead on sand that was clear of the water, and he was dead.