Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Open Boat cover art

The Open Boat

By: Stephen Crane
Narrated by: Deaver Brown
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £2.59

Buy Now for £2.59

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Blue Lagoon cover art
The Sea Wolf cover art
On the Irrawaddy, A Story of the First Burmese War cover art
The Silent Voyage cover art
The Slave Dancer cover art
The Dead Men Stood Together cover art
First You Have to Row a Little Boat cover art
Challenging the Pacific cover art
Apocalypse cover art
Billy Budd cover art
Wake of the Perdido Star cover art
From the Depths cover art
The Stolen Bacillus and Other Incidents cover art
Youth and Heart of Darkness cover art
Heart of Darkness: A Signature Performance by Kenneth Branagh cover art
Bartleby the Scrivener and Other Stories cover art

Summary

"The Open Boat" is considered Stephen Crane's finest work and one of the great short stories of all time. The story begins with four men in an open boat, subject to the vagaries of the sea after their ship went down. The Captain, though injured, retains control over the boat and its occupants by force of habit and uncanny skills. In this trial, he proves his worth, putting his men first, guiding them at every step of the way. When they finally have to swim for it because they can't land the boat on shore, the Captain subordinates his own interests in being saved to go after another.

Each man is called only by his title, the Correspondent, the Oiler, and the Cook. The oiler rises up to prominence and called by name, the only one that is honored so. He is clearly set up to fail and die as he does (and did in the real life event the story is based on as well).

Nature is indifferent to these men bobbing on the surface of the sea. Yes, the sea threatens, but in no unusual way, and they make it to land ultimately. A shark circles the boat, almost playing with it, but then moves on. This is the home of the sea and the shark, and Crane treats them this way. The interesting part is nature is not in conflict with the men; nature is indifferent to them. The people on shore don't help much, but they help enough to help save three of the four men.

Crane tells his story as a painter would, with the most marvelous descriptions of color, the scene, and the internal movements. The story comes through better in the listening than the writing for these reasons - you can sit back and listen to the word pictures Crane paints.

Many later authors used this story for their own learning and purposes. Perhaps the most interesting is fellow poet James Dickey, who also wrote about an event over water with four men, with three surviving. In both cases, the others declare the best of them died. A landmark American story.

Public Domain (P)2010 Christina Brown

What listeners say about The Open Boat

Average customer ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.