Bibliography

Stephen Crane: Biography picture- http://www.todayinliterature.com/biography/stephen.crane.asp

Stephen Crane: Effect on Literature picture- http://floridanature.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/stephen_crane.jpg

"The Open Boat": Literary Analysis picture- http://www.rquackenbush.com/meet_the_author/TheOpenBoat_bg.jpg

Stephen Crane and The Gulf Coast Oil Spill picture- http://www.sindhtoday.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/oil_rig_3_spill.jpg

Stephen Crane and The Gulf Coast Oil Spill

The Gulf Coast oil spill is endangering the animals in the coast. It is predicted to cause trouble for not only the animals but for the businesses as well. Businesses like those who rely on the supply of seafood to make their profit will suffer greatly from this. Crane would think of this as just another one of the universe's ways of not showing favoritism to people. To the individuals who are going to have troubles because of this, the universe wouldn't even really care. This is a prime example showing what Crane believed to be true. He would probably think that if there really was a higher power, why would that power let this happen to so many people if it was working for us and only us?

"The Open Boat": Literary Analysis

"The Open Boat" was written by Stephen Crane based on his own experience being shipwrecked on a dinghy while on a journey to Cuba in 1896. Crane uses imagery throughout the story to make readers get pulled in. The imagery that he uses causes the reader to feel like they are actually part of the crew, going through the same things that the characters are. It causes the reader to feel the hatred toward the universe that the crew feels. The battle during the story is mainly Man vs. Universe. Crane shows two major ideas that are very apparent in the short story. The first is how during times of stress, men can practically lose their minds and let go of civilization. They become unable to make rational decisions. They have been placed by nature in a situation which is completely out of their hands. They are tired, hungry, and irritable, which makes it all the more possible for the "brute within" to be released. Once this is released, they are virtually crazy due to the need for survival. The second idea is the same idea that Crane bases a lot of his pieces on, that nature is indifferent to all people. The men realize that they have no control over what's happening to them, and that it was by coincidence. The universe did not pick them, nor did "she" owe them any mercy. Crane shows his beliefs very obviously in this short story. He puts ideas in the reader's mind that causes them to ponder what they think about how the world works. The ideas make us question whether there is a higher power that truly does work for us, or if the world is just indifferent to us and neither works for nor against us.

Stephen Crane: Effect on Literature

Crane was said to be one of the greatest naturalists of his time. He liked to portray his characters as being placed in situations much larger than them. He would write stories showing his beliefs of the universe as indifferent to the wants and needs of his characters. In "A Man Said to the Universe", Crane's views on the universe are very evident. Crane's work was looked down upon by most readers because it was so naturalistic. Most of his fans were other authors who admired his unique outlook. In this sense, Crane brought something new to literature during the 19th century. He wasn't afraid of what people thought of his writings and this was what made them popular. His ideas about the way the world worked and how it didn't work in favor of just one person were intriguing to many other authors. He is mainly remembered for his American classic, The Red Badge of Courage. This novel has been made into film several times. By the time of Crane's death, he became one of the most popular writers of his generation. It is said that one of the reasons his literature became so popular after his death was because it was so innovative and open minded.

Stephen Crane: Biography

Stephen Crane was born in New Jersey on November 1, 1871, and grew up in New York. Crane was the 14th and youngest child of a Methodist minister. Five of his siblings died when they were still children, and his father died when he was only eleven. His family was both very religious and literary. Out of all of the family members before Crane, his mother was said to be the most talented. Crane taught himself how to read and write by the time he was three years old. Crane attended Syracuse University but did not graduate. By the age of 16, Crane worked as a journalist for the"New York Tribune", and it wasn't until he was fired that he started to write and publish novels and short stories. He published his first novel, Maggie: a Girl on the Streets, when he was 22 years old. He had to print this work with his own money, seeing as it was about prostitution and many publishers found his book to be too "ugly". Between the ages of 22 and 28, Crane wrote over a dozen short stories and novels. Crane moved to England where he developed tuberculosis in the year 1900, and died at only 28 years old.