Stephen Crane's story, “The Open Boat,” tells of a tragic event that actually happened in his life. This story is told from a third person point of view. He chooses to let a narrator reveal the character's emotions and inner thoughts. From this point of view, the reader can fully experience what happened during his struggle for survival. Crane wants the reader to connect with each individual character and feel their independent struggle as they work together to reach the shore alive. The narrator helps the reader feel the despair of the frozen and drowned men and the pain of losing a member of the “Brotherhood.” The narrator honors the courage of each of the men on the boat, allowing the reader to peer not only into the narrator's mind, but also into those of the other men. The author's choice of point of view is relevant as the setting of the story takes place on a lifeboat approximately ten feet long. The lack of space and the proximity of space are directly linked to the affinity of the sailors and the narrator's contribution. The four men stuck in the water on the lifeboat are: the cook, the captain, the correspondent and Billie. Interestingly, Billie, the oilman, is the only man in the story to have a name. The narrator has extensive knowledge of all the crew members aboard the boat. Crane allows the reader to gain insight, through the narrator, into the morale of the brotherhood as well as each individual's thoughts. The men on the lifeboat were not only concerned with saving themselves; they all cared about each other's safety. The crew's focus on survival was so intense that they barely noticed anything, because they were so determined to survive “none of them knew the color of the sky…. but they...... middle of paper ...... saying: "Any visible expression of nature would surely be bombarded with its taunts" (213). By beginning the story from the group's point of view first, then moving to a singular, more detailed perspective, the narrator includes himself in the brotherhood. Allowing the reader to know his innermost thoughts, he shares his fear and anxiety. He said: “No one said it was so. Nobody talked about it. But he lived in the boat, and everyone felt that he warmed him” (205). Being involved in shared trauma with other people, struggling almost desperately to survive, and experiencing Billie's death invites the reader into unspoken sisterhood. Works Cited Crane, Stephen. “The open boat”. Kennedy, XJ and Dana Gioia. Literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. 12th. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 202-217. Print.