Setting

The description of the land describes something of being a safe haven for the people trapped on the boat. The goal of these sea faring people are to get the boat back on land but it seems to be that the boat has a malfunction. Thus, the sailors are stuck in the sea. The fact that Crane places the boat with a view of land possesses a relation to the same theory of being so close to something that is extremely desired, but at the same time, so far from that very same desired object. In this case, the boat is so close to being on land, but the fact of the matter is that they are still so far in their efforts of actually reaching land. The only thing they have are their hopes and faith in the wind to push the boat onto shore. The same goes with a similar situation of having something desirable being dangled right in front of your face, but not being abled to get it is extremely frustrating. Our relationship to Nature is also portrayed in Crane's description of the land because it is a representation of what our roots are from and what we need to be and feel stable as humans. Land is our element and is where we belong. That is why we do not fare well in the sea, as we do not have that type of control when Nature takes over our abilities to cope with nature related disasters and obstacles.