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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. Who commands the tiny boat?

2. What does the captain try to do to their intruders?

3. Who dampens the others' spirits in Part 3?

4. What aims at the captain's head?

5. What would make the men see their situation as glorious?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the correspondent unable to see the lighthouse?

2. How does the correspondent show great character in Part 5?

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

4. What do the correspondent and cook argue about at the end of Part 1, and how is their dispute ended?

5. How is the correspondent different from the other three men?

6. What does the sight of the lighthouse do to the four men?

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

8. What happens after the sail is constructed, and how do the four men feel about it?

9. What does the correspondent see in the middle of Part 6, and what does he do as a result?

10. What does the correspondent do when the oiler takes his place at the oars in Part 6?

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

What is the significance of the oiler being the only character who is named and the only character who dies?

Essay Topic 3

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

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