In The Open Boat by Stephen Crane, thematic vision is expressed by point of view. In this book the point of view is displayed in third person limited omniscient. The difference between third person limited omniscient and third person limited is that third person limited omniscient is a bit more freeing. This is true because the view is not limited to just one character’s perspective, as opposed to third person limited, which is limited to one character. In this book, two major themes are displayed throughout the book, one being nature’s indifference to man, and man’s insignificance in the universe.
The first major theme is nature’s indifference to man. Despite the narrator’s profusion of animal-like, god-like, or any personification of the characterizations of nature, Crane makes clear that nature is ultimately indifferent to the plight of man, possessing no consciousness that we can understand. As the stranded men progress through the story, the reality of nature’s lack of concern for them becomes increasingly clear. The narrator highlights this development by changing the way he describes the sea. Early in the story, the sea snarls, hisses, and bucks like a bronco, later, it merely “paces to and fro,” no longer an actor in the men’s drama. In reality, the sea does not change at all, only the men’s perception of the sea changes. The unaltered activity of the gulls, clouds, and tides illustrates that nature does not behave any differently in light of the men’s struggle to survive.
Another major theme is man’s insignificance in the universe. Throughout “The Open Boat,” the correspondent understands pain to be the necessary byproduct of his efforts to overcome nature, the willful enemy. He comes to value his suffering because it is nobly derived. In the earlier sections, the correspondent, whom the narrator says is cynical, is often cheerful and talkative in his descriptions of the physical pain he experiences. By the end of the story, however, the...