Discussions of Ecocriticism in The Open Boat by Stephen Crane 1 Ecocriticism: The analysis of a literary work from the perspective of environmental factors, features, concepts, and its causes and effects (Britannica). 2 Synopsis of “The Open Boat” 3 “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane is a short story about four men: a cook, a correspondent, an oiler, and a captain who are trapped in a lifeboat in stormy seas. They are off the coast of Florida and stuck in the lifeboat because their ship sank. They eventually see the light from a lighthouse, so they know they are close to land. The waves near the shoreline are too rough for them to land safely and they do not want to risk their lives. There are people on the shoreline who see the men and wave for them to come to shore, but the sea is too treacherous. The men are hopeful the people who saw them from shore will send a bigger boat to rescue them, and they make the decision to row further out to sea where it will hopefully be calmer.   4 They continue on for two nights taking turns rowing and resting. When they are unsure if they will all survive, they exchange addresses just in case. Upon realizing there may be no rescue, the captain decides they should risk steering the boat to shore and they mentally prepare to swim, if, and when, the lifeboat capsizes. This is exactly what happens, and when the lifeboat turns over the four men start swimming for their lives. The captain, the correspondent and the cook miraculously make it to shore, but then realize the oiler, the strongest of them all, did not make it. The men listen to the waves smashing against the shore into the night, and they finally understand the power of the sea. The sea is strong enough to take a life and does so indiscriminately.    5 Examples of Ecocriticism in The Open Boat Causes of the 4 survivors’ struggle—the ocean that sunk the ship Effects of the 4 survivors’ struggle—left in a boat to try and row to shore Descriptions of the waves— “grey” and having “boiling white tops” (Crane, 1) Descriptions of the ocean when times were tough— “coldness of the water was sad” (Crane, 13); “the sea’s roar…[was]…thundering and huge” (Crane, 5) Description of the sea when times were good— “wonderful sea” (Crane, 15) Description of the boat’s motion– “like a horse leaping over a high fence” (Crane, 2) 6 Examples of Ecocriticism in The Open Boat (cont.) When times were good– “slowly and beautifully the land came out of the sea” (Crane, 5) 7 Pause and Ponder Questions-- 1. How is nature given power in this story? 2. How are animals represented in the story and what is their relationship to humans? 8 Pause and Ponder Questions-- 1. Is nature oblivious to our struggles and, if so, what does this mean? 2. Is any one group of workers more expendable than another? Explain your answer. 9 Reader Response Questions—Kris  1. Are there characteristics of any the four characte ...

1. Discussions of Ecocriticism in
The Open Boat
by Stephen Crane
1
Ecocriticism: The analysis of a literary work from the
perspective of environmental factors, features, concepts, and its
causes and effects (Britannica).
2
Synopsis of “The Open Boat”
3
“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane is a short story about four
men: a cook, a correspondent, an oiler, and a captain who are
trapped in a lifeboat in stormy seas. They are off the coast of

2. Florida and stuck in the lifeboat because their ship sank. They
eventually see the light from a lighthouse, so they know they
are close to land. The waves near the shoreline are too rough for
them to land safely and they do not want to risk their lives.
There are people on the shoreline who see the men and wave for
them to come to shore, but the sea is too treacherous. The men
are hopeful the people who saw them from shore will send a
bigger boat to rescue them, and they make the decision to row
further out to sea where it will hopefully be calmer.
4
They continue on for two nights taking turns rowing and
resting. When they are unsure if they will all survive, they
exchange addresses just in case. Upon realizing there may be no
rescue, the captain decides they should risk steering the boat to

3. shore and they mentally prepare to swim, if, and when, the
lifeboat capsizes. This is exactly what happens, and when the
lifeboat turns over the four men start swimming for their lives.
The captain, the correspondent and the cook miraculously make
it to shore, but then realize the oiler, the strongest of them all,
did not make it. The men listen to the waves smashing against
the shore into the night, and they finally understand the power
of the sea. The sea is strong enough to take a life and does so
indiscriminately.
5
Examples of Ecocriticism in The Open Boat
Causes of the 4 survivors’ struggle—the ocean that sunk the
ship
Effects of the 4 survivors’ struggle —left in a boat to try and
row to shore
Descriptions of the waves— “grey” and having “boiling white
tops” (Crane, 1)
Descriptions of the ocean when times were tough— “coldness of
the water was sad” (Crane, 13); “the sea’s
roar…[was]…thundering and huge” (Crane, 5)
Description of the sea when times were good— “wonderful sea”
(Crane, 15)
Description of the boat’s motion– “like a horse leaping over a
high fence” (Crane, 2)

4. 6
Examples of Ecocriticism in
The Open Boat (cont.)
When times were good– “slowly and beautifully the land came
out of the sea” (Crane, 5)
7
Pause and Ponder Questions--
1. How is nature given power in this story?
2. How are animals represented in the story and what is their
relationship to humans?
8
Pause and Ponder Questions--
1. Is nature oblivious to our struggles and, if so, what does this
mean?
2. Is any one group of workers more expendable than another?
Explain your answer.

5. 9
Reader Response
Questions—Kris
1. Are there characteristics of any the four characters that relate
to their professions? If so, how do these aid in their r escue
efforts?
2. How does their opinion change regarding the sea? What was
it during the row to shore, and what is it afterwards?
3. Is the fact that they gave themselves over to the sea, and then
can save themselves, ironic, or just a coincidence?
4. What is the irony behind the fact that the captain lived, yet
the oiler died?
10
Works Cited
Slide one rowboat image -
https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://thumbs.dreamsti
me.com/b/row-boat-thrunderstorm-
27701896.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.dreamstime.com/illustrat
ion/row-boat-
storm.html&tbnid=dDaognq9clfVXM&vet=1&docid=4PL1rmpG
4bufoM&w=800&h=800&hl=en-us&source=sh/x/im
Slide three and four –Bing online pictures Water , Creative
Commons only
Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/.
Crane, Stephen, “The Open Boat”, 1897.
https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the -

6. open-boat.pdf
Purdue, “The Owl”, Writing Lab. Ecocriticism.
https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/the -
open-boat.pdf
Slide seven waves image – stock image.
Slides twelve thru fifteen images – courtesy of Laurie Powers;
(rowboat image, slide 15 stock image.
11
Pause and Ponder Answers –
1. How is nature given power in this story?
The story reminds us that every human is connected to nature in
one way or another. When nature creates adverse conditions for
us, we tend to unite. At times, nature is an immovable obstacle,
in this instance, the enormity of the waves of the ocean versus
the insignificance of the men in a rowboat. The ultimate release
from the waves involves the men figuring out that the waves
will not release them, they must alter their actions or perish. St.
Leo’s Core Value of respect – in the form of respect for the
power of Nature is prevalent throughout this story
2. How are animals represented in the story and what is their
relationship to humans?
Seagulls are considered by many to be scavengers of the sea. As
they fly and seemingly torment the Captain by landing on him
and the leave the refugees alone again. The gulls are given an
enviable power to transport themselves to safety, showing that
nature has a way of caring for its own and man is literally a
castaway of the ecosystem.
A shark swims up next to the boat and the reader gets the sense
of how powerless and unimportant the four companions are in
the vastness of nature. Even the shark becomes bored and

7. moves on to bigger and better things.
12
Pause and Ponder Answers –
Is nature oblivious to our struggles and, if so, what does this
mean?
1. Nature is, in a sense, indifferent to humans and our struggles.
Nature is not conscious, and nature does not have the ability to
care for us as humans. Nature does not produce natural disasters
such as hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc. as a
way to punish humankind because nature does not have a sense
of self or the capability to produce thoughts and opinions;
therefore, nature is oblivious to our struggles. In “The Open
Boat,” there is clear development of how the sea is described. In
the beginning, the sea “paces to and fro,” but it does not bother
the men much. However, as the men’s struggles increase and
change, so does their perception of the sea. It may seem as
though the sea is changing because of their struggles, but the
sea remains the same; it is only their perception making it
worse. The sea does not care enough about them to make their
lives worse.
Is any one group of workers more expendable than another?
Explain your answer.
2. There is no one group of workers that is more expendable
than the other. I think during the COVID-19 pandemic we have
seen that more than ever. While service workers, and minimum
wage workers are still looked down upon, it has become clear
that we need these workers just as much as we need teachers,
medical staff, office personnel, etc. Of course, we don’t rely on
these workers to save lives as we do with medical staff, but we
do rely on them to provide enjoyment and necessities such as a
quick meal, gas, or groceries. In “The Open Boat,” the

8. occupations of the men are a cook, a correspondent, an oiler and
a captain. All four of these men use their knowledge in different
ways to decide how to proceed on what to do with their
predicament of being stuck at sea. Every job is important in all
aspects of life, without the existence of one job we never know
what the world may be like.
13
Reader Response Questions Answers -
1. The captain shows his leadership on board the open boat, and
during their swim to shore; just as he would have on the larger
boat prior to the shipwreck. The oiler and the correspondent
continue their work as communication and boat rowing are still
needed, yet the cook lies at the bottom of the boat almost
sleeping as there is no food to cook, nor a galley to cook it in.
2. Yes, their opinions change as the view it as an enemy they
are fighting during the row to shore, yet afterwards, they have a
healthy respect for it.
3. The fact that when they finally gave themselves over to the
sea by jumping into it (instead of constantly battling with it),
and then made it shore is ironic.
4. The irony behind the oiler's death (instead of the captain's) is
that the oiler was struggling mightily to assist in the rescue,
while the captain was injured. Yet the oiler died, and the
captain survived.
14

9. We hope you enjoyed our presentation.
Thank you.
15
The End