"The injured captain, lying in the bow, as at this time buried in that profound dejection and indifference which comes, temporarily at least, to even the bravest and most enduring when, willy-nilly, the firm fails, the army loses, the ship goes down."
In this passage, the narrator explains the particular despair the captain feels. Despite his experience on the seas, his steadfast nature is shaken by the prospect of impending doom. His ship has sunk, he is physically injured, his crew is fatigued, and the dinghy won't be able to survive the waves much longer. Nonetheless, he knows he must maintain hope for their sake. This passage is significant because it captures the internal conflict that is most threatening to the men in the open boat: a sense of hopelessness.
"It would be difficult to describe the subtle brotherhood of men that was here established on the seas. No one said that it was so. No one mentioned it. But it dwelt in the boat, and each man felt it warm him."
This passage is significant because it directly addresses the story's thematic concern with solidarity. The four men recognize that their individual survival depends upon a mutual agreement to support each other and cooperate. This camaraderie is intuitive: the men do not speak of their bond, as if to do so would dispel the magic of its spontaneous creation.
"If I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees?"
In this passage, the narrator divulges the correspondent's internal monologue, which recurs several times throughout the story. In the desperate and frustrated monologue, the correspondent asks why the gods would put him through the trials and hardships of survival, and give him hope by letting him spot the shore, only to let him drown after all. The monologue is significant because it attests to the correspondent's changing perspectives on nature and fate. He eventually concludes that the universe (i.e. gods and nature) is indifferent to his fate.
"None of them knew the color of the sky. Their eyes glanced level, and were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them."
The story's opening lines are significant because they establish the existential conflict that disturbs the correspondent. He and the other men are so preoccupied with the threat of the waves that they do not allow themselves to look up. The suggestion that they do not know the color of the sky establishes a tone of uncertainty. "The color of the sky" stands in for the existential thoughts the correspondent considers throughout the story. To look up at the sky is to risk missing a wave that is coming over the side of the boat. The correspondent is torn between paying attention to the waves, necessary for his survival, and the loftier speculations on the fate of humanity in an indifferent universe, which threaten to inspire a sense of hopelessness.
"The horizon narrowed and widened, and dipped and rose, and at all times its edge was jagged with waves that seemed thrust up in points like rocks."
In this passage, the narrator captures the men's experience of being adrift amid violent waves that threaten to swamp the boat. The first two clauses capture the boat's nauseating rocking movement, which is then contrasted with a description of the waves in the third clause. Though the waves are made of liquid, the diction likens them to hard, pointed rocks. This metaphoric language better illustrates the water's strength and fearsomeness.
"After a search, somebody produced three dry matches; and thereupon the four waifs rode impudently in their little boat and, with an assurance of an impending rescue shining in their eyes, puffed at the big cigars, and judged well and ill of all men. Everybody took a drink of water."
This passage is taken from the end of the third part of the story, when the men are confident, certain they are about to be saved. The mood in the boat becomes cheerful; to celebrate, the correspondent miraculously finds four dry cigars in his pocket. The narrator uses figurative language to illustrate how the cigars' lit ends shining in the men's eyes symbolize the assurance of their impending rescue. In the next part, however, it becomes clear that their celebration was premature; thus the cigars come to symbolize the men's eagerness to feel unfounded hope.
"It is fair to say here that there was not a life-saving station within twenty miles in either direction; but the men did not know this fact, and in consequence they made dark and opprobrious remarks concerning the eyesight of the nation's life-savers."
In this passage, the narrator introduces simultaneous tension and humor by telling the reader directly that there is no life-saving station. It is an instance of dramatic irony, since the reader knows more than the characters do about their situation. However, it is possible that the men make jokes to keep their spirits up with humor instead of facing their suspicions that there is no life-saving station. This impulse to avoid hopelessness is an extension of their commitment to the solidarity necessary for their mutual survival.
