“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane is an amazing short story that gave me enough reasons to ponder about the power of nature. The story begins with the destructive capability of the natural forces that caused a ship to sink and the surviving four men looking for safety in a dinghy. In that situation the four men developed a bonding all to keep that small boat afloat and reach a shore. The initial optimism that has been shown in the four men slowly vanished as the greater realization sank in that no help was coming. Ultimately it was the Captain and the cook who were saved and the oiler was dead.