journal 24

Nika Bogoslovsky
2/21/08
Crane

Quote: "Meanwhile the light-house had been growing slowly larger. It had now almost assumed color, and appeared like a little gray shadow on the sky. The man at the oars could not be prevented from turning his head rather often to try for a glimpse of this little gray shadow.

Summary: The men spotted a lighthouse on shore but they could barely see the light coming from it. They were hoping that the people on shore would come with a life boat would save them.

Response: Light symbolised hope in this story. Constantly the men looked to the light-house for comfort and a chance at life. As soon as they saw it they thought someone would come out to save them. Not only did they look at the light-house for comfort but the stars seemed to wheel a soothing power as well. When the men spent the night rowing, at one point the correspondent was all alone and all he had was the north star to keep him comfort. Crane's usage of the word 'gray' in this passage made me think that the end of the story could go either way. He describes things as dark and gloomy, which is a reason to think that things will end up poorly but he also uses the light to suggest otherwise. But since he described the light as gray in this scene he really allowed for a questionable ending. I believed that they weren't going to live, I really thought that the gray would turn into black and they wouldn't make it, but I was wrong.