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Read the passage from "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane:

"If I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned—if I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and trees? Was I brought here merely to have my nose dragged away as I was about to nibble the sacred cheese of life?"

What effect does Stephen Crane achieve by repeating the phrase "the sacred cheese" in the short story "The Open Boat"?

Stephen Crane repeats the phrase "the sacred cheese" twice in the story. The phrase is not attributed to any single survivor, so it is believed to reflect a shared existential sentiment among the characters.

By repeating the phrase "the sacred cheese," he emphasizes the absurdity and randomness of their situation, highlighting the existential struggle faced by the survivors.