Which sentence in this excerpt from Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" is a metaphor that reflects the naturalistic theme that human life is insignificant before the workings of fate?

"The boat was headed for the beach. The correspondent wondered if none ever ascended the tall wind tower, and if then they never looked seaward. This tower was a giant, standing with its back to the plight of the ants. It represented in a degree, to the correspondent, the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual. The coldness of the water was sad; it was tragic. This fact was somehow so mixed and confused with his opinion of his own situation that it seemed almost a proper reason for tears. The water was cold."

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Miss Kitty

20 April, 17:49

Which sentence in this excerpt from Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" is a metaphor that reflects the naturalistic theme that human life is insignificant before the workings of fate?

"The boat was headed for the beach. The correspondent wondered if none ever ascended the tall wind tower, and if then they never looked seaward. This tower was a giant, standing with its back to the plight of the ants. It represented in a degree, to the correspondent, the serenity of nature amid the struggles of the individual. The coldness of the water was sad; it was tragic. This fact was somehow so mixed and confused with his opinion of his own situation that it seemed almost a proper reason for tears. The water was cold."

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Lindsay Luna · Answer 1

I believe that the sentence from this excerpt that shows such a metaphor is the following one - This tower was a giant, standing with its back to the plight of the ants.

We are the ants - we are completely insignificant before nature, and before fate itself, as, according to the naturalists, we cannot influence our own lives, but rather just wait to see what happens. We cannot change our fate - what's been decided for us is going to happen and there is nothing we can do about it.