Showing results for "The Open Sea" in Classics

After battling the tempestuous sea, four men in a boat finally spy land. But will the process of getting to the land be their undoing? Based upon Crane’s experience of surviving a shipwreck when traveling to Cuba, The Open Boat is an excellent example of literary Naturalism. H.G. Wells considered it “the crown of all [Crane’s] work”.

A gripping testament to human endurance and the indifference of nature, The Open Boat by Stephen Crane captures the harrowing true story of survival at sea after the wreck of the steamer Commodore. Based on Crane’s own near-death experience, this masterpiece of American naturalism follows four men—the captain, the cook, the correspondent, and the oiler—as they struggle against exhaustion, hunger, and the merciless power of the ocean in a tiny dinghy adrift off the Florida coast.

Stephen Crane (1871-1900) was a prolific American poet, novelist and short story writer. He is recognised by modern critics as one of the most innovative writers of his generation. 'The Open Boat' is probably Stephen Crane's best known and most admired story. It tells the adventure of four sailors, the captain, the oiler, the cook and the correspondent, who are sole survivors of a shipwreck at sea in a small rowing boat off the coast of Florida.