Most of the action in the narrative takes place aboard a small open boat, where the shipwreck survivors flee from certain death at sea. There would be fewer drownings at sea if men could only prepare for shipwrecks and have them occur when the men had attained pink condition (Crane, 1897). The interaction between man and nature is at the heart of the story’s fundamental conflict. The novel’s backdrop allows the author to illustrate how cruel nature can be towards helpless individuals. The natural force is still stronger, and even though modern humans can benefit from natural resources, they will never be able to control nature fully.
The main rising action occurs when survivors make a decision to swim toward the shore, and as the men prepare for their final confrontation with natural forces, the combat becomes tenser in this section. Although the Correspondent could tell by watching the others that they weren’t terrified, their expressions were ambiguous (Crane, 1897). It represents the start of the final test the characters had to pass in men’s decisiveness and confidence before the last step to release from water captivity. The narrative’s ultimate climax is the point at which the boat endures the final storm and arrives at the shore. The scene’s turmoil and chaos contribute to the desired effect by only depicting the Correspondent’s sense of doom and probable death, omitting the other crew members emotions.
The description of the boat colliding with the shore and the crowd rushing in to save the crew serve as a resolution example. The episode that darkens the mentioned phenomena is understanding the oilers death which is depicted to highlight the surviving crew members luck and the unpredictability of human life (Crane, 1897). The transition from the climax to the declining action is made easier by the lack of speech and the emphasis on detailed emotional descriptions. In conclusion, a man can consider himself a master on the land, but in the middle of the sea, nature may have mercy on particular individuals, but nothing can be taken for granted.
Reference
Crane, S. (1897). The open boat [eBook edition]. lulu.com, Web.