Loading...
55th out of 82 books
—
21 voters
My rating:
add to my books
The Open Boat and Other Stories
Four prized selections by one of America's greatest writers: "The Open Boat," based on a harrowing incident in the author's life: the 1897 sinking of a ship on which he was a passenger; "The Blue Hotel," "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky," and the novella Maggie: A Girl of the Streets.
Paperback, 112 pages
Published
May 12th 1993
by Dover Publications
(first published 1968)
There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!
sign in »
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
620)
I liked this story a lot more than I thought I would. The more I read of Crane, the more I like his style -- and wonder what else he might have produced if he hadn't died so young. This story fits in with the Crane poem:
A man said to the universe:
"Sir, I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
In "The Open Boat" the cadence of his words when the boat is o...more
A man said to the universe:
"Sir, I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
In "The Open Boat" the cadence of his words when the boat is o...more
view 1 comment
The Open Boat is an intriguing short story by Stephen Crane that recognizes man's relationship to nature. This story portrays nature in sharp contrast to the romanticism of early American Romantic writers, who viewed nature as there nurturing mother. In many ways this story can be read as an allegory of mans loss of innocence due to the harsh reality of a changing world. This loss of innocence is portrayed as the men in the boat ship there view of nature from a romantic view to that a realist vi...more
This is another story that I couldn’t follow along very well. I liked the imagery as I have in most of these stories, but the style of writing confused me a bit. It is a good example of theme however because it has a message: it conveys the message of working together to overcome struggle.
Fighting against the sea seems to be impossible to these men, yet realize that in order to survive; they have to comfort one another. This is the theme of the story.
Fighting against the sea seems to be impossible to these men, yet realize that in order to survive; they have to comfort one another. This is the theme of the story.
Epic yet simple story about a group of men struggling to make it to shore in a small boat on rough seas.
Once, in a royal fit of frustration, I jumped up on the bed in the middle of night, the mattress balanced precariously on stolen cinder blocks, and yelled: Just put me on a boat in the middle of the ocean with one gallon of water and one box of biscuits and let me die there and then I'll tell you what life is like. My boyfriend was speechless. And half asleep.
Stephen Crane, as a young journalist, was actually stranded in a boat in the middle of the sea, and this is the true story of ...more
Stephen Crane, as a young journalist, was actually stranded in a boat in the middle of the sea, and this is the true story of ...more
I'm a sucker for a good short story, there are several here.
Honivah Rafaranirindraibe
added it
I had to read this for my American Literature class.
Hit and miss. When on, it's the best.
Great short-stories.
I cannot fully fathom how a young man can craft such prose. To take 4 utterly different stories, milieus, characters, and even overall feelings surrounding those tales ... it amazes me. Crane's descriptions leave you missing nothing, yet aren't bogged down by superfluous words.
My only complaints?
There were only 4 stories. I wanted more.
And the fact that he died at the age of 28. A veritable George Gershwin of the literary world. How much more could he have written...
My only complaints?
There were only 4 stories. I wanted more.
And the fact that he died at the age of 28. A veritable George Gershwin of the literary world. How much more could he have written...
Stephen Crane is the man. He writes some of the best sentences ever. And then puts those awesome sentences together to write stories. Jealous!!
It was fitting to read this book on the way to St. George Island, Florida. Equally fitting, that after we read it, we spent most of our evenings there watching 'Shark Week.' I've always had a harder time enjoying Stephen Crane, but I really seized on to this short story. I have plans to read the Blue Hotel next.
Am I still 16? No. Do I still love Naturalism and the whole idea of the individual powerless to the forces of nature and science? Apparently, yes. (My students thought "Open Boat" was repetitive and boring. For shame! Where is their angst?)
This book contains 4 short stories. Maggie: a Girl of the streets, which is good. Then The Open Boat, also good. The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky, which is my favorite. And The Blue Hotel, which I don't remember much of.
I was impressed with Crane's ability to write so fully and beautifully in a short story. The battle between the natural world and mankind and our apparent helplessness. Naturalism...
Clear, crisp prose that doesn't turn sparse. Nature's brutality head-on. There is something about this stuff that I love, and it's somewhere between the words.
"The Open Boat" is great. Some funny dialogue. I liked it much better than "Maggie: A Girl of the Streets."
"The Open Boat" is Carp-500
realism! gross.
The Open Boat, March, 2002
Another great example of his descriptive ability of a situation. Crane puts you right there. It is a shame he died so young.
Read, "The Open Boat"
Elizabeth
added it
Rob
marked it as to-read
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Stephen Crane was an American novelist, poet and journalist, best known for the novel Red Badge of Courage. That work introduced the reading world to Crane's striking prose, a mix of impressionism, naturalism and symbolism. He died at age 28 in Badenweiler, Baden, Germany.
More about Stephen Crane...
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“If I am going to be drowned – if I am going 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 land and trees?”
—
12 people liked it
“Perhaps an individual must consider his own death to be the final phenomenon of nature.”
—
4 people liked it
More quotes…
