Crane's Journalism
Stephen Crane was a writer across many disciplines. As a news correspondent, he was responsible for reporting back from war or other experiences to which he was a witness. When he decided to embark on the Commodore to Cuba, he understood the risks which he nobly took on for the sake of journalism. When the Commodore began to sink, he, as an observer, recorded his story and retold it after the ordeal had passed. His journalistic piece, “Crane’s Own Story,” shed light on the incident just weeks after the event. This piece was drafted in a poetic form, but with more factual accounts than its successor, “The Open Boat.” “The Open Boat” was a more refined version of Crane’s original account of the events surrounding the sinking of the Commodore. The major difference between these two works is their timing and level of creative license in their creation.
The wreck of the Commodore was discovered about twelve miles off the coast of Daytona in approximately 72 feet of water. While the wreck is decayed due to the erosive forces of nature over time, it remains as a historical connection to these works of literature. Stephen Crane penned his own life experience into a literary masterpiece on two fronts, journalism and historical fiction.
Stephen Crane’s story was published in the New York Press only four days after the sinking of the SS Commodore. It was written as a news article and reads as such, referring to names and times as a firsthand account of the action was given by Crane. Crane referred to the two landings on the sandbars before even reaching open ocean, a fact neglected in prose. He also mentioned the few interactions with the Revenue Cutter Boutwell, a ship of the Revenue Service who if cargo was known would have seized the Commodore. The account by Crane then takes us to his restlessness about the mission, at which point he tells the reader that the engine room pumps failed and the ship began to take on water. As the ship sinks, their life saving effort must be cut short as their boat is almost to full capacity and the addition of one more would cause it to capsize. The men cut the rope and began drifting toward the light of the lighthouse of Mosquito Inlet, currently the Ponce De Leon Inlet. As the men came ashore, Crane describes their lifeboat overturning and tossing the men into the sea, forcing them to swim to shore. Once on shore, the three remaining men realized that the oiler had perished in the surf. Although “The Open Boat” contains these facts, it is much more discriminating in the facts it prevents, allowing Crane to romanticize the account. Through this method of hiding some of the facts while exploring others in detail, Crane gave himself the necessary leeway to create a literary masterpiece in the form of “The Open Boat.”
Historical Connection
After hours of research devoted to finding the position of the wreck site of the SS Commodore, I decided to consult Stephen Crane’s account of the events which took place and current US NOAA Nautical Navigation charts to determine the coordinates of the wreck. Crane stated that he was in the lifeboat for approximately 30 hours. Given the average rate of movement, the landing site, and the distance out from the shore an illegal vessel would have been to avoid searches, the possible area becomes very narrowed down. When it was found that the wreck was that of the Commodore in the late 1980’s, GPS technology was still in its infancy and the location was never tagged. However, the wreck site was placed on US navigational charts as a non hazard. Determining that this scattered wreck site was the SS Commodore required a cross check of distance and ocean depth at that location. These parameters were confirmed at
29°10'18" N 80°45'48" W indicating that this is the geographical location of the ships remains.
The wreck of the Commodore was discovered about twelve miles off the coast of Daytona in approximately 72 feet of water. While the wreck is decayed due to the erosive forces of nature over time, it remains as a historical connection to these works of literature. Stephen Crane penned his own life experience into a literary masterpiece on two fronts, journalism and historical fiction.
Stephen Crane’s story was published in the New York Press only four days after the sinking of the SS Commodore. It was written as a news article and reads as such, referring to names and times as a firsthand account of the action was given by Crane. Crane referred to the two landings on the sandbars before even reaching open ocean, a fact neglected in prose. He also mentioned the few interactions with the Revenue Cutter Boutwell, a ship of the Revenue Service who if cargo was known would have seized the Commodore. The account by Crane then takes us to his restlessness about the mission, at which point he tells the reader that the engine room pumps failed and the ship began to take on water. As the ship sinks, their life saving effort must be cut short as their boat is almost to full capacity and the addition of one more would cause it to capsize. The men cut the rope and began drifting toward the light of the lighthouse of Mosquito Inlet, currently the Ponce De Leon Inlet. As the men came ashore, Crane describes their lifeboat overturning and tossing the men into the sea, forcing them to swim to shore. Once on shore, the three remaining men realized that the oiler had perished in the surf. Although “The Open Boat” contains these facts, it is much more discriminating in the facts it prevents, allowing Crane to romanticize the account. Through this method of hiding some of the facts while exploring others in detail, Crane gave himself the necessary leeway to create a literary masterpiece in the form of “The Open Boat.”
Historical Connection
After hours of research devoted to finding the position of the wreck site of the SS Commodore, I decided to consult Stephen Crane’s account of the events which took place and current US NOAA Nautical Navigation charts to determine the coordinates of the wreck. Crane stated that he was in the lifeboat for approximately 30 hours. Given the average rate of movement, the landing site, and the distance out from the shore an illegal vessel would have been to avoid searches, the possible area becomes very narrowed down. When it was found that the wreck was that of the Commodore in the late 1980’s, GPS technology was still in its infancy and the location was never tagged. However, the wreck site was placed on US navigational charts as a non hazard. Determining that this scattered wreck site was the SS Commodore required a cross check of distance and ocean depth at that location. These parameters were confirmed at
29°10'18" N 80°45'48" W indicating that this is the geographical location of the ships remains.