How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The oiler plied the oars until his head drooped forward, and the overpowering sleep blinded him. And he rowed yet afterward. Then he touched a man in the bottom of the boat, and called his name. "Will you spell me for a little while?" he said, meekly. (5.6)
This points to the importance of the co-dependent relationship between the oiler and the correspondent. Each of them knows that once the other guy starts rowing, they want him to row for as long as is humanly possible, and that the moment one of them stops, the other will have to start. The fact that the oiler and correspondent are taking turns and counting on each other to put forth maximum effort makes all the difference. It's through their cooperation that they muster determination and strength.
Quote #8
The January water was icy, and he reflected immediately that it was colder than he had expected to find it off the coast of Florida. This appeared to his dazed mind as a fact important enough to be noted at the time. The coldness of the water was sad; it was tragic. This fact was somehow mixed and confused with his opinion of his own situation that it seemed almost a proper reason for tears. The water was cold. (7.18)
We love the sarcasm here. We can almost imagine Jon Stewart reading it: "The water was cold, is what I'm saying here." It doesn't say much about determination except to once again emphasize the stress and discomfort these guys are under. He can't even think straight anymore—the part where Crane refers to the correspondent's "dazed mind" suggests that a not-dazed mind wouldn't be crying over the temperature of the water—yet he continues to fight against the tears and against the waves.
Quote #9
Presently the boat also passed to the left of the correspondent with the captain clinging with one hand to the keel. He would have appeared like a man raising himself to look over a board fence, if it were not for the extraordinary gymnastics of the boat. The correspondent marvelled that the captain could still hold to it. (7.25)
A captain goes down with his ship, right? Well, this captain allowed his ship to go down without him, and that's probably weighing pretty heavily on him. Check out how he clings to this little lifeboat—not only to stay afloat, but also to protect the boat himself. Even despite his injury, which made him unable to pitch in around the boat in other ways, by sheer force of will, he attaches himself to the boat and refuses to let go. Now that's determination.