The Interpretation of the Sea Image in“The Open Boat”

Abstract

The ocean,in its incalculable temperament,speaks to the epistemological crisis reflected in naturalist fiction.Stephen Crane’s“The Open Boat”contribute to the sea narrative productions by dramatizing the existential battle between the individual and the overpowering forces of the sea.The archetypal study claims that the sea journey has a meaning which refers to religious journey towards spiritual rebirth.But Crane feels the need to establish a new paradigm,in which the suffering endured on the archetypal sea journey must lead to an enhanced individual physical consciousness.The four crew members in“The Open Boat”go through severe spiritual and physical struggle and gradually come to understand the importance of survival and the necessity of human brotherhood.This thesis will analyze the sea image as a trail in natural condition.This trail is aimed to wake the consciousness of the respect of nature and the importance of human brotherhood.