 Like other major works by Stephen Crane , " The Open Boat " contains numerous examples of symbolism , imagery and metaphor . Vibrant descriptions of color , combined with simple , clear writing , are also apparent throughout , and humor in the form of irony serves in stark opposition to the dreary setting and desperate characters . Editor Vincent Starrett stated in his introduction to the 1921 collection of Crane 's work entitled Men , Women and Boats that the author keeps " down the tone where another writer might have attempted ' fine writing ' and have been lost . " Other critics have noted similarities between the story and shipwreck @-@ related articles Crane wrote while working as a reporter for the New York Tribune earlier in his career . Articles such as " The Wreck of the New Era " , which describes a group of castaways drowning in sight of a helpless crowd , and " Ghosts on the Jersey Coast " contain stark imagery that strongly prefigures that of " The Open Boat " . 
