The Open Boat

This story was, similarly to The Yellow Wallpaper, hard to follow for me in the beginning. However, again like the previously reflected upon story, understanding came as I read further. The Open Boat is a story that is filled with symbolism, dark symbolism. Stephen Crane's symbolism, in my opinion, is dark and lonely, yet it gives the reader something to think about and take away from the story.

In summary, four men, the Correspondent, the Oiler, the Cook, and the Captain, are afloat a dinghy in the ocean after the original ship they were aboard sank. These four men are the survivors of the accident and are trying to make it back to shore alive. While the dinghy is serving its purpose, or as well as it can being that dinghies are not the best method for sailing an ocean, it fills with water and there is risk of capsizing at any given moment. Despite being sleep-deprived, and more than likely malnourished by this point, the men take turns rowing tirelessly in an attempt to survive. At one point, there is a glimmer of hope when the men believe they see the shoreline and bystanders, along with a lighthouse--unfortunately, as it turns out, the lighthouse has been abandoned for some time. The next day they decide to take the dinghy as close to the shoreline as they can, then swim to safety. Using the dinghy as a, sort of, life preserver, three of the men make it to safety. The Correpondent, who is fighting bouts of unconsciousness, the Captain, who was injured in the sinking of the original ship, and the Cook survive. Unfortunately the Oiler did not make it.

As mentioned above, this particular piece of Crane's work is filled with symbolism. Some of the symbols, as I did more research on them, included: the boat--linked with the uncontrollable parts of life. I am unsure of which boat Crane was referring to, however, I think that either would make sense. The original ship that the men and their crew were on sank, which can be an unforeseen circumstance, and the dinghy, which would be difficult to navigate regardless of the body of water, but with the unpredictable nature of the ocean, would be arduous; the waves--which I associated with the difficult, unpredictable situations that life tends to throw at individuals and society in general. Sometimes you don't see them coming, you just need to be ready for them at any given moment; the oiler's death could also be considered in a round-about-way, a symbol--which, as it seems to be the theme of the story, depicts the unpredictable facts of life. It wasn't for any reason that the oiler died, he simply did.

This was a very dark story, however, there was a small light at the end of the tunnel, at least for those who survived. For the Captain, Cook, and Correspondent, they have more life to live. Overall, this was a good story, long and slightly confusing, but good none-the-less.

*Additional symbolism research done using Sparknotes and Helium.*

The Yellow Wallpaper

Overall, this story made for an interesting read. While it was slightly confusing in the beginning, as it progressed it started to make more sense. Charolette Perkins Gilman used great imagry to depict the setting of the story, giving the reader a visual, mental picture.

In summary, this story is about a woman, whom I interpreted to be young, perhaps newly married, who is spending the summer with her husband, who is a physician and the woman's caretaker, in a large, aged house. While it is not mentioned outright, the woman is suffering from a form of depression. The room that this young woman is residing in, in fact, that is all she does--as commanded by her caretaker/husband, is covered in a tattered, aged yellow wallpaper. As time marches slowly on, the woman becomes infatuated with the wallpaper, then obsessive. She convinces herself that she sees a pattern within the pattern that seems to depict the figure of a woman trying to emerge and flee from behind the yellow wallpaper. This drives the young, married, woman mad.

From early on in the story, I got a sense that this woman was being somewhat oppressed by her husband. With him forbidding her from doing any activity, including writing, and keeping her in the room with the yellow wallpaper, I could tell that she was feeling suppressed by her married life. In a way, I think that the yellow wallpaper was a symbol of her marriage. Tattered, worn, and with the illusion of a woman trying to escape from within it, the wallpaper reflects how she is feeling.