Jan McCutcheon
English 48B
Journal for Crane











Author Quote: "None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level, and were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them. 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" (Norton 1000).

Internet Quote: “The disaster was widely reported on the front pages of newspapers across the country. Portrayed favorably and heroically by the press, Crane emerged from the ordeal with his reputation enhanced, if not restored, after the battering he received during the Dora Clark affair” (wikipedia).


Summary: When the SS Commodore is shipwrecked off the coast of Florida, Crane immortalizes the ordeal in his story The Open Boat.” He tells the story of many harrowing hours spent rowing around the rough sea in a dinghy along with the wounded captain, the oiler and the cook. When they finally get close enough to shore, they decide the only alternative is to swim before they are all too weak to make it. Three men survive and the cook drowns.

Response: Because we know the story is true, we know the “correspondent” survives, but it does not seem possible during many points in the story. Unlike the characters in “Maggie” where the characters in a bad situation have the circumstances continue to get worse and worse, these men (or at least three of them) survive. In spite of fears of exposure to the elements, lack of food and water, drowning, sharks, exhaustion and hyperthermia the author survives the shipwreck. The correspondent tells us in colorful detail what it was like to struggle against the sea, how they worked together, and how they eventually reached a calm acceptance of their fate. He “reflected that when one gets properly wearied, drowning must really be a comfortable arrangement, a cessation of hostilities accompanied by a large degree of relief” (Norton 1015). When they finally manage to swim to shore and are rescued he realizes that now they really know the color of the sea. He tells the reader “the wind brought the sound of the great sea’s voice to the men on shore, and tehy felt that they could be interpreters” (Norton 1016).