ill orchoice are normally stopped by force beyond their control (Campbell, Naturalism inLiterature). Walcutt says that the naturalistic novel offers clinical, panoramic,slice-of-life drama that is often a chronicle of despair(qtd. in Campbell, Naturalism inLiterature). Some of the themes in naturalistic writing are survival, determinism, andviolence (Campbell, Naturalism in Literature). Another recurring theme in naturalisticwork is that the story usually deals with dull everyday life with the main protagonistrising above it (Realists and Naturalists).One of the best examples of naturalism is Stephen Cranes The Open Boat. Inthis story, Crane shows us a Universe totally unconcerned with the affairs of humankind (Voegele). Voegele states that in the story the characters come face to face withthis indifference and are nearly overcome by Natures lack of concern. The characterssurvive through persistence and cooperation (Voegele). The story opens with four men,known simply as the captain, the oiler, the correspondent, and the cook, stranded in theocean in a small boat (Crane 57-8). Crane shows in the beginning natures lack ofconcern for the groups tragedy: "The birds sat comfortably in groups, and they wereenvied by some in the dingey, for the wrath of the sea was no more to them than it wasto a covey of prairie chickens a thousand miles inland" (Crane 60). The characters inThe Open Boat come to realize that the only way to survive in nature is thoughsympathy and concern for other human beings (Voegele). Crane reveals this to us inthrough the character of the correspondent (Voegele). Crane tells us that he had beentaught to be cynical of men, but his shared tragedy with the other three men on the boatforced him to form a comradeship that goes beyond mere associations (61). The OpenBoat gives us a dose of reality that starts off bitter but gradually conjures up emotionsand in the end stands a testament to the human spirit (Voegele). ...
