Stephen Crane's story, "The Open Boat", takes place off the coast of Florida in January of 1898. The four me who survived the shipwreck consisted of a captain (who had an injured arm), an oiler, a cook, and a correspondent. These four men are struggling to survive in the middle of the ocean, fighting against the forces of nature. At one point, they spotted a lighthouse ("house of refuge") but there were no signs of life, so they kept on. Then they came upon another shore where they spotted some vacationing people, one of which was waving his coat around at the men. The people were of no help to them, so they rowed on, the oiler and correspondent switching once the other gets too tired. As they came upon what looked like another town, a very large one at that, they noticed that it was deserted. Just as they were rowing closer to shore, getting ready to jump, a huge wave capsized the dingey. When the correspondent arose from under the icy water, he saw the cook floating on his back, the oiler ahead, racing toward the shore, and the captain holding onto the boat. Then a man (who took his clothes off as he ran into the water) rescued the cook, the correspondent, and the captain. The oiler lay dead in the shallows, faced downward when the correspondent finally made it to shore. Naturalism in "The Open Boat" is clearly shown as the characters realize the indifference of nature.
             Naturalism, as defined by a wise man, is the belief that humankind's fate is in the control of "The Powers of the Universe", which are indifferent to the struggles of the individual. The individual cannot hope to understand why a situation is taking place and can only struggle to survive. Basically, whether the individual lives or dies is not in the power of that individual, it is in the "Powers of the Universe". In "The Open Boat", the lives of the captain, cook, oiler, and correspondent were in the hands of the forces of n...