wth/#/test-player 100% Read the paragraph from Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat." * It would be difficult to describe the subtle brotherhood of men that was here established on the seas. No one sald that it was so. No one mentioned it. But it dwelt in the boat, and each man felt it warm him. They were a captain, an oller, a cook, and a correspondent, and they were friends, friends in a more curlously Iron-bound degree than may be common. The hurt captain, lying against the water-lar in the bow, spoke always In a low voice and calmly; but he could never command a more ready and swiftly obedient crew than the motley three of the dinghy. It was more than a mere recognition of what was best for the common safety. There was surely in it a quality that was personal and heart-felt. And after this devotion to the commander of the boat there was this comradeship that the correspondent, for instance, who had been taught to be cynical of men, knew even at the time was the best experience of his life. But no one sald that it was so. No one mentioned it. * Crane, Stephen. "The Open Boat," 1898. Which sentence best captures the theme? 01. "There was surely in it a quality that was personal and heartfelt." 2. "It would be difficult to describe the subtle brotherhood of men that was here established on the seas." 3. "They were a captain, an oiler, a cook, and a correspondent, and they were friends." 4. "...there was this comradeship, that the correspondent for instance, who had been taught to be cynical of men, knew even at the time was the best experience of his life."

grunge

"character is what you are in the dark." dwight lyman moody, in this very witty quotation of his, states we act and think differently when we are "in the dark", that is, when the spotlight is not on us and everyone can see us and consequently judge us. when reading, we tend to be sympathetic to some characters and their dilemmas. by being so, we are saying to ourselves that we agree with those characters' acts and choices, even if they are morally questionable if we have common sense in mind. dwight lyman moody's quotation applies very well to "crime and punishment", by   19th century russian writer fiodor dostoyevsky. raskolnikov, the main character, a former law student who spends his days reflecting upon life and its misery, draws a fatal conclusion: mankind is divided in two main categories: ordinary and extraordinary people. the first are the ones who lead a run-of-the-mill existence and are full of imperfections; the latter are the ones who are spiritually superior, the ones who always know better, and have the right to judge the ordinary ones, as well as eliminate them if for common good. raskolnikov considers himself as belonging to the extraordinary category and decides to kill an old lady who is a money lender and in whose house he rents a small room. raskolnikov compares himself to napoleon, who had the undeniable right to execute tons of people during the war in order to save his nation. of course what the main character decides to do is a horrendous crime, but as readers we feel it is the right thing for him to do, since the victim is a mean old woman who only thinks about money and keeps humiliating her younger sister. what one experiences is a mixture of sympathy and empathy for the character, even though he decides to commit homicide, which is not at all accepted or tolerated by civilized citizens. however, since readers are "in the dark", they allow themselves to feel in ways they would probably never dare to confess to anyone, no matter how nasty or vicious a character can be. after all, they are just reading and doing no harm. in other words, readers are in the dark and can be who they are without being judged.