ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The cook is a cheerful, chubby man who rides the ten-foot lifeboat alongside the captain, the correspondent, and the oiler. He is responsible for bailing the water out of the boat while the captain gives orders and the correspondent and the oiler row.

Detailed explanation-2: -The narrator mentions that the cook is wearing a life preserver. This might seem like a pretty mundane detail, but take note of this; it’ll be important later. As the correspondent is rowing, he moves in the wrong direction, which leads a wave to crash into the boat. Luckily, nobody is upset at his mistake.

Detailed explanation-3: -He and three other men were forced to navigate their way to shore in a small boat; one of the men, an oiler named Billie Higgins, drowned after the boat overturned.

Detailed explanation-4: -In the end, the oiler is the only one who drowns. He is found face-down in shallow waters by the life-saving man. The oiler is also the only character with a name, further differentiating him from the others.