Stephen Crane, a Naturalistic Writer
             As time goes on, people are constantly changing. Their views and opinions of things change due to their environment. During these different eras, different styles of writing are formed. Romanticism, Impressionism, Naturalism, Realism, and Idealism are only a few of the many approaches to literature and occurred at different time periods. Stephen Crane is often referred to as both a Naturalistic and Realistic writer. He wrote Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, The Red Badge of Courage, "The Open Boat," "The Blue Hotel," and other short stories and poems. In "The Open Boat," Stephen Crane's use of characters, symbolism, theme, and language indicate Naturalistic writing. Naturalistic literature depicts man as a victim of circumstance. Within Crane's works, the protagonist is shown as a victim of nature, and can be seen in "The Open Boat" when Billie, the oiler and only person whose name is given in the short story, dies while trying to swim to shore.
             At the turn of the nineteenth century, Naturalism was in its early stages. Although Naturalistic writings were already produced, they were often ignored. People did not like the subject matter. (Pizer 8) Themes common to the Naturalistic writer are survival, violence, determinism, taboo, the monster inside man, indifferent nature, life ruined because of forces of nature, and the emptiness of life. The stories were frequently allegories, showed skepticism, had man limited by nature, and had a hero that could not develop due to life (Pizer, 4,6"
             10). Naturalistic writers had stories based on fictional ideas, but had the poverty of real life (Gross, 153). Reality was told in Naturalism and people felt the writing showed humans without free will-genes and surroundings determined human behavior and urges, not man. Naturalism was used to "describe the application of the clinical method of empirical scien...