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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the captain remind the other men?

2. Near the end of Part 3, how long do the men guess it will now take them to reach shore?

3. What do the men search the shoreline for?

4. How do the men feel when the intruders leave?

5. Who confirms seeing the lighthouse?

Short Essay Questions

1. What thoughts do the four men refrain from sharing at the beginning of Part 6?

2. As the correspondent reaches the shore, what does he see the oiler doing?

3. What is unknown or unclear about the men's situation?

4. What do the four men see at the beginning of Part 4, and what do they think is odd?

5. What do the oiler and correspondent take turns doing, and how?

6. What is the cook doing in Part 1?

7. What does the correspondent think about his time in the boat?

8. What do the four men see near the end of Part 4?

9. In Part 4, where does the captain instruct the others to take the boat, and why?

10. What story does the correspondent recall reading?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Investigate "The Open Boat" in terms of Naturalism. How does it adhere to and differ from the typical Naturalist story? What changes could be made to mark it more clearly as Naturalism? What changes could be made to prevent critics from classifying the story as Naturalism?

Essay Topic 2

How can Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" be read as an antithesis to Darwinism?

Essay Topic 3

What role does nature play in this book? How do the four men view nature? In what ways can Nature be seen as a character in "The Open Boat"?

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