3. Born: November 1, 1871 in Newark, New Jersey
*The 14th and last child of Jonathan and Mary Helen (Peck) Crane*
Died: June 5, 1900 in Badenweiler, Baden- Wurttemberg, Germany
*Cause of Death: Tuberculosis*
4. Parents
- Father: Jonathan Townley Crane (1819-1880)
- Mother: Mary Helen (Peck) Crane (1827-1891)
***Note***
- Only 8 of 13 children who preceded Stephen are alive at the time of his
birth: William, Jonathan Jr., Agnes, Wilbur, Edmund, Mary, George, Luther
`
5. About the Author Stephen Crane
- Started writing that 8 and by 16 was writing articles
for the New York Tribune
- 1891 moves to New York and becomes free-lance
writer
- 1895- 2nd Novel “The Red Badge of Courage” brings
him fame
- 1898 Settles in Sussex, England and refines is realism
use.
- June 5, 1900 Catches malarial in Cuba which worsens
his tuberculosis and he dies
6. Major Works of Short Stories
- The Open Boat
- The Blue Hotels
- The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky
- The Monster
8. The Crane House - Historical Background
-Saved from demolition in 1995 through the efforts of Tom
and Regina Hayes
- By dedicated volunteers (dubbed the "Crane Crew")
- The Stephen Crane House is Asbury Park's link to great
American literature.
-The house was built about 1877 and was then known as
"Arbutus Cottage“
It was bought by widow Mary Helen Peck Crane in 1883..
10. Chronology of Writing
- Maggie: A Girl of the Streets (1893)
- Black Riders (1895)
- The Red Badge of Courage (1895)
- George’s Mother (1896)
- The Third Violet (1896)
-The Little Regiment (1896)
- The Open Boat and the Other Stories (1899)
- War is Kind (1899)
- Active Service (1899)
- The Monster and the Other Stories (1899)
- Wounds in the Rain (1900)
- Whilomville Stories (1900)
11. Social Views in the 1870’s
War
Franco- Prussian War (1870-1871)
Political Events
- German Empire and Alliance System emerged
- Gilded Age begins in 1874 until 1896
- Racial and economic politics in America’s Reconstruction are bitter, pessimistic, and
sometimes violent
- Presidents of the U.S.A- Ulysses S. Grant (2nd Term1873) and Rutherford B. Hayes
(1877)
Science and Technology
- Prototype telephone was invented by Alexander Graham bell in 1876
- Version of the light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison
Environment
- Atlas Bear becomes extinct
13. Critics Opinions
- Debate over his fiction writing should be considered
literary moment or method
-The Open Boat, The Blue Hotel laden with symbols and
images
- Conveyed personal vision based on his term “quality of
personal honesty”
- Pioneered the development of literary naturalism
14. More Critical Opinions
“The Veteran”
- Confidence vs. Fear
- Henry Fleming valiant feeling over shadowed by fear and
lack of confidence
- There is a tremendous feeling of Henry’s youth opposing
his feelings and thoughts
- Youth vs. Experience
- Images through the use of figurative language
15. Even More Critical Opinions
- Both figurative language and rhetorical devices
is constant throughout the text
- Showing the reader the beauty of nature will
prevail
- Nature beauty provides a contrast of beauty in
the environment of war
17. Realism
-Literary Movement that begins during the
1870’s before the Civil War
- Depicts life like it really is
- Pessimistic view of civilization
- It is a reaction against romanticism
18. Naturalism
- Era that developed out of realism
- People’s lives are forced by nature and
or/society
-Human beings do not have control of
their fate
19. Impressionism
- Originally developed in France in the 1870’s
-Starts in the U.S. IN EARLY 1900’S
- Overall impression of a scene or object;
- Similar to paintings of Impressionistic
20. Technique
- Darkness and cold outside frame these events in the
saloon: "He might have been in a deserted village. We
picture the world as thick with conquering and elate
humanity, but here, with the bugles of the tempest
pealing, it was hard to imagine a peopled earth" (188).
- Realistic details: When the saloon door opens, the
wind hurls some of the playing cards against the wall.
21. Influenced by Crane’s Work
- Henry James
- H.G. Wells
- Joseph Conrad
- Ernest Hemingway
23. Issues and Themes
- Produced several classic works of literary naturalism
- Movement that emerged in France in the middle of the 19th century and flourished
in America between 1890 and 1910 in the works of Crane, Frank Norris, Jack London,
and Theodore Dreiser
-Naturalism is closely allied to realism, which it resembles in its attention to detail and
its opposition to idealized romance
- He is perhaps the greatest of the naturalists, however, precisely because his works
transcend their genre
- While works such as The Red Badge of Courage and "The Open Boat" depict men
struggling against a natural world that is both destructive and indifferent
-Crane treated his subjects in a highly lyrical style.
24. Type of Literature Writing
- Henry James wrote realistic literature as
opposed to the Romantic Era
- Joseph Conrad wrote from a nautical setting,
depicting trials of the human spirit
- Ernest Hemingway wrote a form of modern
literature
26. Quotes
“It was not well to drive men into final
corners; at those moments they could
all develop teeth and claws.”
“Sometimes, the most profound of
awakenings come wrapped in the
quietest of moments”
27. Quick Facts
- Crane was war correspondent of the Hearst
Newspaper during the War between Greece and
Turkey
- Spanish-American War in 1898 provided new
employment for Crane
28. Literary Elements
“The Veteran”
Simile- He aint nice as our’n
Metaphor- Sky was falling down
Irony- Fought in the war lives; dies saving some colts
Symbols- Young colts; True nature of a solider
