In “The Open Boat,” animals form a motif, appearing several times as reminders of the indifference and occasional cruelty of nature.
First, a flock of gulls comes to the men of the ship:
Canton-flannel gulls flew near and far. Sometimes they sat down on the sea, near patches of brown seaweed that rolled over the waves with a movement like carpets on a line in a gale. The birds sat comfortably in groups, and they were envied by some in the dinghy, for the wrath of the sea was no more to them than it was to a covey of prairie chickens a thousand miles inland. Often they came very close and stared at the men with black bead-like eyes. At these times they were uncanny and sinister in their unblinking scrutiny, and the men hooted angrily at them, telling them to be gone.
These birds, even though they are not a real threat, are portrayed as “sinister” (much like the waves are portrayed). The violence of the waters does not affect these birds, even though they are much less intelligent than the men.
The captain, due to the precariousness of his boat, is unable to even shoo away a bird that perches on his head in fear that he might throw the boat off balance and send all the men into the sea. This shows nature’s dominance over man, in a kind of grimly humorous way.
The seagulls are also likely an allusion to the Romantic poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem is about a sailor who shoots an albatross—which is a symbol of the Judeo-Christian God—and is punished by all his crew dying and being lost at sea until he repents by showing he can love all of God's creations. The poem shares a message with "The Open Boat": that the natural world cannot or ought not be dominated by the powers of man.
Another, arguably more dangerous animal appears later. When the correspondent is rowing alone at night, he notices a shark fin poking out of the water:
The speed and power of the thing was greatly to be admired. It cut the water like a gigantic and keen projectile.
The presence of this biding thing did not affect the man with the same horror that it would if he had been a picnicker. He simply looked at the sea dully and swore in an undertone.
The animal is mighty, and thereby worthy of admiration. This observation parallels the times that Crane describes nature as something beautiful. It reminds the reader that nature is not all bad or evil.
The description of the shark as a projectile has the opposite effect, as it reveals the immense power of the natural world. The shark's power is compared to weapons of war that it took men centuries to invent.
However, the correspondent seems somewhat indifferent to the shark’s presence. He recognizes that the shark likely is not out to kill him, as he is a sailor, not someone confined to the land such as a “picnicker,” and so he is used to the perils of the sea.
When animals appear in "The Open Boat," they act as representations of nature at large. They show nature's ability to exist indifferently to and sometimes detrimentally toward the pursuits of man.
Crane personifies Fate as an old crone:
If this old ninny-woman, Fate, cannot do better than this, she should be deprived of the management of men’s fortunes. She is an old hen who knows not her intention. If she has decided to drown me, why did she not do it in the beginning and save me all this trouble? The whole affair is absurd.... But no; she cannot mean to drown me. She dare not drown me. She cannot drown me. Not after all this work.
Fate is personified because Crane wants to demonstrate how humans have the tendency to ascribe a will to nature. Crane was an atheist, so the personification of Fate is meant to show how, even though the world is arbitrary, humans feel the need to create a higher power that determines their lives.
Here, the men need something to lash out against, and then feel even angrier when there is nothing to lash out against. There is also a little bit of dark humor in play: the men want to fire fate for being “absurd,” but part of the point of the story is to convince the reader that life is absurd. In line with the tenets of American Naturalism, there is no bureaucratic Fate, minus the laws of physics and human psychology, and those laws are, in fact, uncaring.
The reference to fate being incarnated as an old woman also resonates with Greco-Roman mythology, in which the three fates are oftentimes depicted as three old women who weave the fate of mortals out of thread.
The following passage repeats three times throughout the story:
If I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees? Was I brought here merely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life?
This motif is supposed to be a summary of the internal thoughts of the four men. Even though they are different in their personalities and roles, they are united in the belief that their likely drowning is unjust, because they haven't yet lived enough.
The passage is angry and resentful in tone. It shows that humans often seek a reason for why they suffer. They recognize that the suffering of others is a misfortune, but have difficulty understanding that the world is not just when it applies to their own suffering.
The initial “If I am going to be drowned” repeats thrice in each iteration, just as the overall passage repeats three times in the story. The repetitive, poetic style is unique in the generally straightforward narrative, and it heightens the drama, showing that the men react to their situation with deep emotion throughout, even if they don't display it openly.
The reference to "seven mad gods" is a vague allusion to ancient mythology. The Greeks, for instance, often referred to the "seven seas" of the known world, so the phrase refers to whatever divine beings rule those seas—beings that are apparently "mad," random, and not to be trusted. Crane's choice of a mythological allusion is also noteworthy, as if to show the men's attempt to imbue a meaningless world with meaning—an effort he suggests is pointless.
In “The Open Boat,” animals form a motif, appearing several times as reminders of the indifference and occasional cruelty of nature.
First, a flock of gulls comes to the men of the ship:
Canton-flannel gulls flew near and far. Sometimes they sat down on the sea, near patches of brown seaweed that rolled over the waves with a movement like carpets on a line in a gale. The birds sat comfortably in groups, and they were envied by some in the dinghy, for the wrath of the sea was no more to them than it was to a covey of prairie chickens a thousand miles inland. Often they came very close and stared at the men with black bead-like eyes. At these times they were uncanny and sinister in their unblinking scrutiny, and the men hooted angrily at them, telling them to be gone.
These birds, even though they are not a real threat, are portrayed as “sinister” (much like the waves are portrayed). The violence of the waters does not affect these birds, even though they are much less intelligent than the men.
The captain, due to the precariousness of his boat, is unable to even shoo away a bird that perches on his head in fear that he might throw the boat off balance and send all the men into the sea. This shows nature’s dominance over man, in a kind of grimly humorous way.
The seagulls are also likely an allusion to the Romantic poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The poem is about a sailor who shoots an albatross—which is a symbol of the Judeo-Christian God—and is punished by all his crew dying and being lost at sea until he repents by showing he can love all of God's creations. The poem shares a message with "The Open Boat": that the natural world cannot or ought not be dominated by the powers of man.
Another, arguably more dangerous animal appears later. When the correspondent is rowing alone at night, he notices a shark fin poking out of the water:
The speed and power of the thing was greatly to be admired. It cut the water like a gigantic and keen projectile.
The presence of this biding thing did not affect the man with the same horror that it would if he had been a picnicker. He simply looked at the sea dully and swore in an undertone.
The animal is mighty, and thereby worthy of admiration. This observation parallels the times that Crane describes nature as something beautiful. It reminds the reader that nature is not all bad or evil.
The description of the shark as a projectile has the opposite effect, as it reveals the immense power of the natural world. The shark's power is compared to weapons of war that it took men centuries to invent.
However, the correspondent seems somewhat indifferent to the shark’s presence. He recognizes that the shark likely is not out to kill him, as he is a sailor, not someone confined to the land such as a “picnicker,” and so he is used to the perils of the sea.
When animals appear in "The Open Boat," they act as representations of nature at large. They show nature's ability to exist indifferently to and sometimes detrimentally toward the pursuits of man.
