Stephen Crane's, The Open Boat, was a very interesting read. I liked knowing that it was based on Crane's own experience. However, I think I would have liked his exact account of the incident better than this fictional telling. I had a really hard time following what was going on sometimes. I would often find myself lost with what was happening or which character Crane was talking about. This made it difficult for me to get into the story because I was constantly wondering what was going on.
However, there was one part of the story that I really connected with - when the crew had to finally jump out of the boat because it was sinking and they had to swim to shore. Crane describes how cold the water was and how hard it was to swim in. When I was in Alaska for a mission trip, we decided to go swimming in one of the lakes. Although it was the middle of June, the air and water temperature were only in the low fifties. However, this didn't stop us, so we jumped in. Obviously it was very cold but I also found that I couldn't swim. The water was so cold that I had trouble breathing much less moving my arms and legs to keep me afloat. When Crane described this part, my experience in Alaska immediately popped in my head and it made their struggle much more vivid for me - oh how hard and scary that must have been!
In class we talked about Crane's story being the only one of the three pieces that we read for naturalism that had a sense of teamwork involved in surviving. The way the crew worked together in staying afloat played a huge role in keeping them all alive for the majority of the story. What I find funny, as well as encouraging, is that The Open Boat was also the only one that was based on a true story.
That's really interesting, you're connection between Alaska and the crew swimming through the rough waters. It reminds me of a time I saved my friend from drowning in the deep waters of a lake. Adrenaline was probably the key, but in the context of the story they were fighting to save their own lives. Pretty cool really.
ReplyDeleteIt most certainly is encouraging that "The Open Boat" was based on a true story and still was the one naturalistic piece we read that involved teamwork. With all the negative evidence about human nature we see these days, it's nice to be reminded that we aren't all worthless wretches!
ReplyDeleteYour experiences in Alaska are a nice relation to the story. I'm from Mariposa, California, up in the mountains, and the Merced River is the summer hotspot. The water is 100% runoff from the mountain peaks (so basically, melted snow) and when the river first rises in early spring, the water can be as low as low 40's. Usually people don't start going to the river until late June at the earliest, but I've jumped in in early June or late May a few times, and it is definitely not the thing to do!
Anyways, my main point for commenting was your remark that you'd rather read the actual account. I don't know how interested you are in reading it, but I thought I'd note that you can get the kindle edition of "Stephen Crane's Own Story" (the actual account) for $1 if you'd like. Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Cranes-Story-Open-ebook/dp/B0032JTWJQ
Both the actual and fictional accounts are included in that version.