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Essay Comparing Open Boat And Hawthorne's Short Stories

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The short stories The Open Boat (1897, Stephen Crane), The Lottery (1948, Shirley Jackson), and Young Goodman Brown (1835, Nathaniel Hawthorne) all have some historical truth in their context. Whether it is based on the author’s life or know historical events, these stories share some piece of America’s history. Some of these stories, were written about a time period other than their own and are pieces of fiction still maintain their historical veracity. The Open Boat is based off the actual shipwreck of the SS Commodore, which occurred close to Cuba on New Year’s Eve 1896. Stephen Crane, the author, had been sent to Cuba to serve as a war correspondent during the Cuban insurrection and was on the ship on the night it sank. The boat left from Jacksonville, Florida with munitions for the Cuban insurrectionists. The night was very foggy and because of the low visibility, the ship’s bow sliced itself on a sandbar when the boat was less than …show more content…

The Open Boat, talks directly about an event in which the author was present. This story talks about an event, not as well-known as the other stories, but it has historical truth and it is part of America’s history nonetheless. Although The Lottery seems to be set a few decades back from when it was originally written, its historical truth can be seen as part of the movements that were taking place in the time period when it was written. Young Goodman Brown’s historical context was about widely known events that occurred in the 1600’s and is not afraid to portray some dark chapters of American history. In each of these stories, there is a little piece of America’s development and history. They all show historical truth and help us gain a better understanding about American history. History is an important part of society and it is important to learn about these stories and in order to better understand American

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