Stephen Crane – Thoughts on the Katrina Tragedy

If Stephen Crane were alive today, I think he would have a lot to say about Hurricane Katrina and the resulting devastation and tragedy. Crane worked as a journalist so it would be natural that he would take an interest in the major news stories of the day, but he would be very interested in the Katrina story because of his interest in stories involving man versus nature. In our lifetime, this is certainly one of the most compelling stories of the power of nature and man’s struggles against its overwhelming force. I think Crane would write about the folly of the government leaders who thought that they could protect a city located below sea level and in a heavy hurricane prone area. He would see this as an example of men thinking they can tame nature. As he implied in “The Open Boat”, nature can be fought but cannot be tamed. He also might blame the victims for their poor decision to stay in harm’s way when everyone was calling for evacuation. I also sure that he would express some sympathy for those who could not leave and had to rely on the government to provide for their protection. The government’s pathetic response would have drawn his criticism as well. When the sailors in “The Open Boat” expressed their anger at the people on shore who appeared not to come to their aid, Crane was expressing his belief that people have an obligation to provide help even if the victim has behaved recklessly. I think Crane would have joined the people who criticized the government officials who did not live up to their responsibilities.  Because Crane also wrote in a realistic manner, I’m sure his stories about Katrina would contain very graphic descriptions of what happened. As he did in “The Red Badge of Courage”, he would not be afraid to describe the situation in very harsh way. He would want his readers to understand how awful the conditions in New Orleans were. If he interviewed any of the victims, he would be sure to use their dialect and make the reader feel they were right there in the middle of the story. Finally, he would also express his doubts about those who prayed for the victims. He did not believe that God would provide the needed aid but that man must rely upon himself to get through the tough times. I think he would conclude that people should be angry with themselves for their poor choices, for tempting nature and for their lack of help for the victims of Katrina.

Stephen Crane and Naturalism

As he expressed in The Open Boat, Stephen Crane wrote often about the indifference of nature to man’s fate. He also believed that if there were a God, he was there to simply set things in motion and then sit back to watch the results. This idea is clearly stated in his poem “The Black Riders” VI and XXIV. (1)  He describes how God has built a boat in a masterful way. He has skillfully fashioned all of the parts and acted as if he would take the rudder to guide the ship but then abandons it to the sea. It gets even worse. Not only is nature uncaring but at the end of this part of the poem, nature is laughing at man and his weakness. He writes that there are “many in the sky Who laughed at this thing”. Even the gods find humor in man’s struggle with nature. In XXIV of the poem, a man is seen running after the horizon as if he could catch it. When he is told that his efforts are futile he refuses to believe it and continues to run. In her discussion of Crane’s use of naturalism in his writings, Donna Campbell, also points out that Crane often wrote about man’s fight against an uncaring nature. (2)  Mark Canada writes that the naturalists including Crane tend to write “fiction and poetry” that is “dreary in tone”. This is certainly true of this poem. Crane tells us that there is no caring God to help us when we are in danger. We have no one to pray to when things go bad. God like nature is indifferent to our problems. As all naturalists believed, man is on his own against nature but in this poem, Crane takes it to an even more ominous level, where nature laughs at man’s pitiful efforts.  

1.      The Norton Anthology, Seventh Edition, Volume C, 1865-1914, pgs 1016 and 1017

2.      Campbell, Donna M. "Naturalism in American Literature. " Literary Movements. Dept. of English, Washington State University.Web 11/27/11

3.      Canada, Mark, ed. "Stephen Crane." Canada's America. 1997. http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/canam/crane.htm (11/26/11).

Stephen Crane and Realism

Stephen Crane and Realism

Stephen Crane was first and foremost a follower of the Realist style of writing. In his novel “The Red Badge of Courage” and short story, “The Open Boat”, Crane is rejecting the romantic’s view of life, nature and war and shows a very different and brutal world.

Shelby Foote noted in an introduction to “The Red Badge of Courage” that the writing was so vivid and realistic that it was almost as if the reader could see the pictures of each scene in his mind. (1) Linda Davis cites his first novel, “Maggie, A Girl of the Streets” as an excellent example of the realistic style of writing. (2) In fact he was harshly criticized because his writing was so dark and vicious in its descriptions. Frank Bergon also pointed out Crane’s “vivid” and “intense” language. (3) He said that Cranes’s use of common dialect of his characters made the characters come alive but because it was so different form what previous writers had done, Crane was again criticized. These critics all agree that his writing was very different from what came before him. He wanted to show things as they are and not some dressed up version of events that was not based on reality. He was also praised for his very real depictions of war. Although he never personally fought in a war, Civil War veterans were very vocal with their praise about the realistic way he descried the battlefield. Crane had a great influence on later writers who also left behind the romantic view of life and wanted to write in the realistic manner the Crane favored. Hemingway in particular was a major follower of Crane’s style.

1.      Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage, Modern Library published 2000, Introduction by Shelby Foote

2.      Davis, Linda H. 1998. Badge of Courage: The Life of Stephen Crane. New York: Mifflin.

3.      Bergon, Frank. 1975. Stephen Crane's Artistry. New York: Columbia University Press.

Stephen Crane and Realism

Stephen Crane and Realism

Stephen Crane was first and foremost a follower of the Realist style of writing. In his novel “The Red Badge of Courage” and short story, “The Open Boat”, Crane is rejecting the romantic’s view of life, nature and war and shows a very different and brutal world.

Shelby Foote noted in an introduction to “The Red Badge of Courage” that the writing was so vivid and realistic that it was almost as if the reader could see the pictures of each scene in his mind. (1) Linda Davis cites his first novel, “Maggie, A Girl of the Streets” as an excellent example of the realistic style of writing. In fact he was harshly criticized because his writing was so dark and vicious in its descriptions. Frank Bergon also pointed out Crane’s “vivid” and “intense” language. He said that Cranes’s use of common dialect of his characters made the characters come alive but because it was so different form what previous writers had done, Crane was again criticized. These critics all agree that his writing was very different from what came before him. He wanted to show things as they are and not some dressed up version of events that was not based on reality. He was also praised fro his very real depictions of war. Although he never personally fought in a war, Civil War veterans were very vocal with their praise about the realistic way d\he descried the battlefield. Cranes had a great influence on later writers who also left behind the romantic view of life and wanted to write in the realistic manner the Crane favored. Hemingway in particular was a major follower of Crane’s style.

1.      Stephen Crane, The Red Badge of Courage, Modern Library published 2000, Introduction by Shelby Foote

2.      Davis, Linda H. 1998. Badge of Courage: The Life of Stephen Crane. New York: Mifflin.

3.      Bergon, Frank. 1975. Stephen Crane's Artistry. New York: Columbia University Press.

Stephen Crane

Ashley McCann

American Literature II

Stephen Crane Biography

1871 – 1900

Stephen lived a very short life but was still able to publish a large volume of items. He was the son of a minister but rejected all forms of organized religion. His father died when he was only nine years old and his mother moved the family to New Jersey. He attended college but only for two years quitting after his mother passed away. Moving to New York, he worked as a free lance writer and journalist. It was there that he wrote his first novel, “Maggie, A Girl of the Streets”. It didn’t sell well but it brought him attention from an individual who provided the financial backing to write his most famous and successful novel, “The Red Badge of Courage” .The success of this novel broke him fame and fortune. His background in journalism gave him the knowledge to write in a realistic manner. Although he never fought in a war, his realistic descriptions of the battlefield were praised by veterans as being very close to reality. His interest in war brought him to Cuba to write about the rebellion against the Spanish. He also covered the Spanish American War and wrote about Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.  He also used his personal experiences to fill his stories. For example, he was a passenger on the “The Commodore” and its sinking gave him the idea for his story “The Open Boat”. Crane’s association with a former brothel owner did not help his reputation. He became the target of vicious false rumors that drove him to leave America and settle in England.  Unfortunately, he squandered his fortune by spending freely on parties and friends. His disregard for his own health contributed to his early death.   Despite his success, when he died from complications of tuberculosis, he was deeply in debt.  

                                                           Crane's Contribution to Literature

Crane liked to write adventure stories and focused much on the struggle of man versus nature. He was an early writer in the style of realism and naturalism. He was also very influenced by the impressionist painters. Many passages in his stories and novels drew a picture in the mind of the reader very similar to these paintings. Like most of the realist novelists, he rejected the romanticists and wrote very vivid and brutal descriptions. He used the crude language of his characters and was not afraid to examine the very ugly side of life. This was very true of the writing in his first novel, “Maggie, a Girl of the Streets”. The novel was not well received and received some criticism for its too realistic descriptions of life on the streets of New York. But it was also praised for this same element and was the beginning of his use of realism in his writing. He also described the indifference of nature to man’s problems. “The Open Boat” is an example of his belief that man must struggle with nature and cannot expect God to intervene. This story also allowed him to express his strong anti-religion stance. The men in the boat never appeal to God in their perilous situation. Crane writes the story as man raging against nature. He also showed his anti war feeling in “The Red Badge of Courage”. War veterans praised this novel as being very realistic in its descriptions of the horrors of war. Some critics have found it difficult to put him in a specific category of writers, seeing elements of realism, impressionism, and naturalism. He was also influential in his use of imagery. He consciously designed his writing to use colors and objects to tell the story more vividly.  He was a major influence on later authors like Ernest Hemingway. 

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Crane

http://kirjasto.sci.fi/scrane.htm

www.online-literature.com/crane/

Man vs Nature - Stephen Crane

In his short story, "The Open Boat", Stephen Crane paints a picture of a bleak and unforgiving world where man can find no help or sympathy. Crane's realistic writing is in direct opposition to the romantics who talked of nature as being almost paradise. They saw nature as they wanted it to be, tame, beautiful and non-threatening. Crane's nature is anything but tame. The sailors in this story struggle to survive as nature seems to oppose all of ther efforts to stay alive. This theme of man vs nature is central to many of Crane's and other contemporary realist writers. This story was inpired by Crane's horrific experience of being the victim in a shipwreck off the coast of Florida. He nearly drowned and was left in a lifeboat for many days before being rescued. This experience gave him a very dark view of nature and it is reflected in this story.