The Open Boat

The prolific American writer, poet, and journalist Stephen Crane is the author of “The Open Boat.” He published his short story in 1897 after surviving a shipwreck earlier in the year. To cover the brewing war between Cuba and its colonizer, Spain, Crane boarded the Commodore as 1896 turned into 1897. The ship sank, and Crane and others endured a day and a half on a tiny lifeboat. Before publishing his fictional account of the calamity, Crane published a factual article, “Stephen Crane’s Own Story,” in The New York Press.

“The Open Boat” is one of Crane’s most studied works, alongside his novella about a poor young woman, Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893), and his novel about a young soldier in the American Civil War, The Red Badge of Courage (1895). The story is an example of Naturalism due to its objective and often unsentimental style. The major themes include People Versus Nature, Survival Versus Fate and Powerlessness, and Community and Cooperation Versus Alienation.

This guide refers to the 1974 version of the story included in the Washington Square Press edition of Maggie and Other Stories.