Battle With Fate "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane shows how nature is unforgiving. The ocean was the treacherous antagonist constantly trying to make the characters in this story accept their fate which is death. The characters did everything in their power to defy fate. The ocean in this story was like a main character, the antagonist of the story always out to destroy the small dinghy. The ocean sent the small crew of the injured captain, oilerman, correspondent, and cook to their death, always hurling another huge wall of water to make a seat on the boat like a "bucking bronco". The ocean was always terrifying the crew. " . . . the craft pl