• How do the men form a brotherhood in the Open Boat?

The narrator describes the men ( the captain, the correspondent, the
cook, and the oiler (Billie), as a “subtle brotherhood.” All have a bond with each
other, yet do not communicate this connection. The captain is in charge and
maintains a calm aurora about him through times of tragedy. The oiler is hard
working and confident; he rows alongside (and alternatively with) the
correspondent. The correspondent is the eyes of the story. The perception of
what occurs in “The Open Boat” is made light by the correspondent’s questions
and frustrations of the tragedy. The cook is a weak man, yet full of a positive
spirit. Even with the winds and waves relentlessly tugging at the men’s lives, he
continually holds onto the hope of being rescued.
Thrown together by fate, the four men in the boat become brothers who
bravely face an unfriendly sea. They cooperate with one another and do their
duty without complaining. The captain, though injured, remains clear-headed
and makes the decisions, which the others unquestioningly obey. The cook bails
the boat. The correspondent and the oiler row. Of the comradeship they
develop, the narrator says in pg. 59 the last paragraph.