 Although autobiographical in nature , " The Open Boat " is a work of fiction ; it is often considered a principal example of Naturalism , an offshoot of the Realist literary movement , in which scientific principles of objectivity and detachment are applied to the study of human characteristics . While a majority of critics agree that the story acts as a paradigm of the human situation , they disagree as to its precise nature . Some believe the story affirms man 's place in the world by concentrating on the characters ' isolation , while others — including those who call " The Open Boat " ideologically Symbolist — insist that the story questions man 's place in the universe through metaphorical or indirect means . 
