The Open Boat Naturalism Essay

Naturalism, in the simplest of terms, is the struggle between people and nature. Nature shapes the lives of every person on the planet, but in naturalism this intensified and made into more of a survival of the fittest situation. Some anthers who wrote in the naturalism genre include Stephen Crane, Edith Wharton, and Kate Chopin. Stephen Crane being one of the most influential authors in this movement. Stephen crane’s “The Open Boat” optimizes the naturalism movement in American literature. A key theme of naturalism is nature’s indifference to human life. In this genre nature simple does not care if a person lives or dies. This is clearly seen in “The Open Boat” where a strong storm leaves the men shipwreck. Leaving them to face the rough weather and sea. The men fight for their lives throughout the entire piece of work. Nature is a powerful force that tries to hinder the men at all times. The ocean and storm’s lack of compassion fits the theme perfectly.
Darwin’s theory is used frequently in naturalism. “The Open Boat” uses this theory as well to emphasis the struggle to survive against a much larger foe. The men are left in the unrelenting ocean, until they find the shore. The men have to fight to survive. The one man who is most like to survive, the Oiler, tries to take on nature by himself but in doing so meets his own demise. The oiler was David to nature’s goliath, but unlike the biblical story nature triumphs. As for the rest of the men the band together to stand strong against nature, this is one of the most obvious was Darwin’s theory is seen in “The Open Boat.” Sticking together gave them a better chance to survive. This is similar to ants who are swept away by water, in order to survive they grab ahold of one another to keep from drowning. These are both are examples of adapting to ones situations to survive, which is part of Darwin’s