jouranl 26

Nika Bogoslovsky
2/21/08
Crane

Quote: "'Billie. . . . Billie, will you spell me?' 'Sure,' said the oiler.

Summary: The correspondent is asking Billie, the oiler and the only other rower, to relieve him of rowing while they spend the night out at sea.

Response: The oiler is the only character who has a name and I think its because Crane actually had a similar situation happen to him and that an actual Billy died. It makes sense that he would want to immortalize him in this story. The character of Billie is such a sad story because throughout their struggle he was the strongest rower. Crane always showed the correspondent asking Billie for rowing relief and he always agreed without complaint. You would assume that since he is the strongest he will have the best luck at swimming safely to shore but he doesn't. It's almost as if they tired him out to the point of complete weakness. To look at it positively, the fact that he drowned builds his character as a strong rower. It shows that he was really a rower and someone who belonged above water rather than in it. I wonder why Crane didn't explain his death, he really only focused on the correspondent and the captain. It's unfortunate that he dies because he seemed the most helpful and kind.