"English Sem" is a two-semester course for 1 high school credit and an opportunity for six college credits open to seniors.
First semester covers readings from exploration and colonial days to the Civil War. Second semester encompasses authors from the Civil War to the present. Students are required to do college-level writing and literary interpretation throughout the year.
"The Open Boat" shows how nature does not discriminate. "[. . .] it may be remarked that a man would conclude that it was really the intention of the seven 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. The man felt it would be a crime most unnatural" (Crane 353). Here the correspondent laments his bad luck. He describes how unfair it would be for a hard-working man of his caliber to die in such an "unnatural" way. However, it really it the most natural thing to happen to someone. Death happens to everyone. It does not matter if one is hard-working, lazy, or mean; everyone will die in the end. This is illustrated by the watery fate of the oiler. Sad, oh sad.
The correspondent repeated over and ovber again throughout the story "If i am going to be drowned-if I am giong to be drowned-if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods, who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees?" On page 353 he continues with this thought that "When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and hates deeply the fact that tere are no bricks and no temples. Any visible experssion of nature would surely be pelleted with his jeers. Then, if there be no tangible things to hoot he feels, perhaps, the desire to confront a personification and indulge in pleas, bowed to one knee, and with hands supplicant, saying: 'Yes but I love myself'". Nature doesn't think that a killer over a church goer is any more important than the other. Nature is just nature.
At the beginning of the story, the men talk a lot about how the sea was rough in their tiny little life boat, but on the next page (343), they notice how "the color of the sea changed from slate to emerald-green, streaked with amber lights, and the foam was like tumbling snow." So it isn't that nature was making the sea all 'angry' just to spite them, it's just that nature does whatever the heck it wants like change the color of the sea at the break of day.
There was a lot of changing color in the story and the colors used most often were gray and black. I think it showed that nature was in control and the usage of the black and grey colors portrayed the hopelessness of their situation at times.
Yes -- it is the perspective of the people in the boat that thinks the ocean has emotions. In some ways, this is still our ego-centrism. If the ocean is angry at them, they are still the central focus. It is harder to accept that nature is indifferent to them.
"The crest of each of these waves was a hill, from the top of which the men surveyed, for a moment, a broad tumultuous expanse; shining and wind-riven. It was probably splendid. It was probably glorious, this play of the free sea, wild with lights of emerald and white and amber" (343). The men converse about how the on-shore wind is fortunate. Moments later, however, seagulls annoy the men and interpret such interaction as being "grewsome and ominous" (344). This goes to show that nature is not strictly beneficial or antagonistic; it only exists and "simply is." Nature does as it pleases. It is not there to help or harm specifically.
"The Open Boat" uses a lot of descriptions of nature, as if it is another character in Crane's story. For example, on page 341, when the story is just being opened, "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"(pg.342). Crane uses a lot of visuals and descriptions of nature as if he is introducing nature as he would a character. Just as any character in the story would come about and be brought back into the story, the descriptions of the animals and the environment are brought back into the story. Crane also uses a lot more descriptions about nature than he does of the men in the boat. The nature is precise and has specific details, whereas the men are just men of their certain occupation, they have no name, and they really have no specific characteristics or qualities that are really brought out in the story.
When they came across a tower, it was thought to represent nature. "It represented in a degree, to the correspondent, the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual - nature in the wind, and nature in the vision of men. She did not seem cruel to him then, nor beneficent, nor treacherous, nor wise. But she was indifferent, flatly indifferent" (355). Basically, nature just does what it wants.
Throughout this short story, the color gray is used multiple times. Gray is a depressing, bleh color, and the men just, "knew the colors of the sea". If they "know" the colors of the sea, they don't put any blame on nature for their misfortunes, they just know that's how nature is. They know it to be uneasy and unpredictable and view it as "gray" as this color description is repeated on page 341, 345, 347, 355, and probably more pages that I missed, but those are the ones I had marked.
When the crew first catches a glimpse of the land withe the lighthouse and land, they become angry that they have been allowed to see land if they were meant to drown from the beginning. Later, on page 355, the correspondent is reflecting on the tower that they see. The reading says that the tower represents "the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual - nature in the wind, and nature in the vision of men... [nature] did not seem cruel to him then, nor beneficent, nor treacherous, nor wise. But she was indifferent, flatly indifferent".
"He was naked, naked as a tree in winter, but a halo was about his head, and he shone like a saint" (358). Nature is everything around us, and as in the naturalistic view, all nature is equal. In this passage, the man is being placed on the same level as trees, as well as the same level as saints. There is no superior race in nature, it's all one race.
I believe the last line of the story shows the understanding of the men that nature does what is pleases. It reads, "When it came night, the white waved paced to a fro in the moonlight, and the wind brought the sound of the great sea's voice to the men on shore, and they felt that they could then be interpreters." (358). Now the men were through this war with nature and they have an undertanding that no one else does. They know that nature can throw you around or be calm as can be. This last line recognizes the fact that nature can not be controlled and these men have that understanding.
"As darkness settled finally, the shine of the light, lifting from the sea in the south, changed to full gold. On the northern horizon a new light appeared, a small bluish gleam on the edge of the waters. These two lights were the furniture of the world" (351). The men in the boat complain a lot about their situation, for good reason I might add, and they feel victimized by nature. These men feel that somehow nature is pushing them around and is trying to make their crusade to land as difficult as it could be. This quote highlights a different side the same nature. It shows a nature that has 'furnished' a world, one can assume that they are talking about humanity. While nature might appear to be singling the men out and making their trek difficult they are seeing only one side to nature. I argue that nature is both, nature is both loving and antagonistic to humanity. Our view of it is narrowed because of how we see our personal relation towards it.
"When it occurs to man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples.(353)" Man wants to be angry at nature for discriminating against it, but then man realizes that nature does not discriminate. Man just loves himself and wants special treatment.
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If you are having trouble with this, keep in mind that nature is not only the sea and sky, but animals as well.
ReplyDelete"The Open Boat" shows how nature does not discriminate. "[. . .] it may be remarked that a man would conclude that it was really the intention of the seven 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. The man felt it would be a crime most unnatural" (Crane 353). Here the correspondent laments his bad luck. He describes how unfair it would be for a hard-working man of his caliber to die in such an "unnatural" way. However, it really it the most natural thing to happen to someone. Death happens to everyone. It does not matter if one is hard-working, lazy, or mean; everyone will die in the end. This is illustrated by the watery fate of the oiler. Sad, oh sad.
ReplyDeleteThe correspondent repeated over and ovber again throughout the story "If i am going to be drowned-if I am giong to be drowned-if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods, who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees?" On page 353 he continues with this thought that "When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and hates deeply the fact that tere are no bricks and no temples. Any visible experssion of nature would surely be pelleted with his jeers. Then, if there be no tangible things to hoot he feels, perhaps, the desire to confront a personification and indulge in pleas, bowed to one knee, and with hands supplicant, saying: 'Yes but I love myself'". Nature doesn't think that a killer over a church goer is any more important than the other. Nature is just nature.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the story, the men talk a lot about how the sea was rough in their tiny little life boat, but on the next page (343), they notice how "the color of the sea changed from slate to emerald-green, streaked with amber lights, and the foam was like tumbling snow." So it isn't that nature was making the sea all 'angry' just to spite them, it's just that nature does whatever the heck it wants like change the color of the sea at the break of day.
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of changing color in the story and the colors used most often were gray and black. I think it showed that nature was in control and the usage of the black and grey colors portrayed the hopelessness of their situation at times.
DeleteYes -- it is the perspective of the people in the boat that thinks the ocean has emotions.
DeleteIn some ways, this is still our ego-centrism. If the ocean is angry at them, they are still the central focus. It is harder to accept that nature is indifferent to them.
"The crest of each of these waves was a hill, from the top of which the men surveyed, for a moment, a broad tumultuous expanse; shining and wind-riven. It was probably splendid. It was probably glorious, this play of the free sea, wild with lights of emerald and white and amber" (343). The men converse about how the on-shore wind is fortunate. Moments later, however, seagulls annoy the men and interpret such interaction as being "grewsome and ominous" (344). This goes to show that nature is not strictly beneficial or antagonistic; it only exists and "simply is." Nature does as it pleases. It is not there to help or harm specifically.
ReplyDelete"The Open Boat" uses a lot of descriptions of nature, as if it is another character in Crane's story. For example, on page 341, when the story is just being opened, "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"(pg.342). Crane uses a lot of visuals and descriptions of nature as if he is introducing nature as he would a character. Just as any character in the story would come about and be brought back into the story, the descriptions of the animals and the environment are brought back into the story. Crane also uses a lot more descriptions about nature than he does of the men in the boat. The nature is precise and has specific details, whereas the men are just men of their certain occupation, they have no name, and they really have no specific characteristics or qualities that are really brought out in the story.
ReplyDeleteWhen they came across a tower, it was thought to represent nature. "It represented in a degree, to the correspondent, the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual - nature in the wind, and nature in the vision of men. She did not seem cruel to him then, nor beneficent, nor treacherous, nor wise. But she was indifferent, flatly indifferent" (355). Basically, nature just does what it wants.
ReplyDeleteThroughout this short story, the color gray is used multiple times. Gray is a depressing, bleh color, and the men just, "knew the colors of the sea". If they "know" the colors of the sea, they don't put any blame on nature for their misfortunes, they just know that's how nature is. They know it to be uneasy and unpredictable and view it as "gray" as this color description is repeated on page 341, 345, 347, 355, and probably more pages that I missed, but those are the ones I had marked.
ReplyDeleteWhen the crew first catches a glimpse of the land withe the lighthouse and land, they become angry that they have been allowed to see land if they were meant to drown from the beginning. Later, on page 355, the correspondent is reflecting on the tower that they see. The reading says that the tower represents "the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual - nature in the wind, and nature in the vision of men... [nature] did not seem cruel to him then, nor beneficent, nor treacherous, nor wise. But she was indifferent, flatly indifferent".
ReplyDelete"He was naked, naked as a tree in winter, but a halo was about his head, and he shone like a saint" (358). Nature is everything around us, and as in the naturalistic view, all nature is equal. In this passage, the man is being placed on the same level as trees, as well as the same level as saints. There is no superior race in nature, it's all one race.
ReplyDeleteI believe the last line of the story shows the understanding of the men that nature does what is pleases. It reads, "When it came night, the white waved paced to a fro in the moonlight, and the wind brought the sound of the great sea's voice to the men on shore, and they felt that they could then be interpreters." (358). Now the men were through this war with nature and they have an undertanding that no one else does. They know that nature can throw you around or be calm as can be. This last line recognizes the fact that nature can not be controlled and these men have that understanding.
ReplyDelete"As darkness settled finally, the shine of the light, lifting from the sea in the south, changed to full gold. On the northern horizon a new light appeared, a small bluish gleam on the edge of the waters. These two lights were the furniture of the world" (351).
ReplyDeleteThe men in the boat complain a lot about their situation, for good reason I might add, and they feel victimized by nature. These men feel that somehow nature is pushing them around and is trying to make their crusade to land as difficult as it could be. This quote highlights a different side the same nature. It shows a nature that has 'furnished' a world, one can assume that they are talking about humanity. While nature might appear to be singling the men out and making their trek difficult they are seeing only one side to nature. I argue that nature is both, nature is both loving and antagonistic to humanity. Our view of it is narrowed because of how we see our personal relation towards it.
"When it occurs to man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples.(353)" Man wants to be angry at nature for discriminating against it, but then man realizes that nature does not discriminate. Man just loves himself and wants special treatment.
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