Stephen Crane is one of the greatest figures in the history of American literature and his novella The Open Boat is widely known by people all over the world as a representative work of Naturalism. This paper aims at exploring Naturalism in Stephen Crane's The Open Boat,which will guide the readers to understand American Naturalism accurately and thoroughly. It firstly introduces the author and his novel The Open Boat. Secondly,it progressively dissects Naturalism. It not only analyses the general characteristics of Naturalism with details in The Open Boat,but also interprets the distinguishing features of American Naturalism so that readers can better understand the features of American Naturalism. Through textual perusal,it further studies the unique characteristics of Stephen Crane's Naturalism and lays particular emphasis on Crane's special concern on the awakening of humanity. It is hoped that this thesis can help readers get an in-depth comprehension of Naturalism and gain some inspiration from TheOpenBoat.
