Character Analysis
The oiler is the only character in "The Open Boat" whose name is mentioned in the story—it's Billie. While all the other characters, including our narrator, remain anonymous, Crane has the oiler called by name no less than nine times (1.7, 3.13, 4.25, 5.7, 5.14, 6.17, 6.20, 6.27, 7.6…yes, we counted). Naturally, we've got to ask why this is the case—what sets the oiler apart from the others?
Well, one big difference is that he's the guy who dies. It could be that we keep hearing his name so we'll become attached to him; it makes him seem all the more human and makes him easier to relate to. When he finally does wash up on shore in the end, it's not just some oiler who dies; it's our buddy Billie.
Full disclosure: remember, Crane based his story on his own real life experience in a lifeboat. Apparently a guy named Billy Higgins really did drown as they tried to reach shore…naming the oiler after good ol' Billy Higgins might also be a way for Crane to memorialize him in print.
Aside from his name, we don't know much about the oiler. He keeps to himself, and works hard while rowing the boat, diligently keeping the men safe from the waves. The correspondent tells us that, like the others, he hasn't eaten or slept in two days, but that unlike the others he also "worked double-watch in the engine-room of the ship" right before the ship sank (3.8). Even then, he continues rowing, and rowing, and rowing, and although he keeps to himself, any time the correspondent tries to talk to him, the oiler never seems annoyed or anything of the sort; although "weary-faced," he "[smiles] in full sympathy" (3.8).
When the captain gives the order to row to shore, the oiler is the one at the oars. The moment they're tossed from the boat, he starts swimming as hard as he can toward shore, while the other men stay closer to the boat. Once again, he is set apart from the others.
We collectively turn our heads away for a moment as the other three men get rescued, and when we turn back, the oiler is suddenly facedown in the shallow water, dead. Rest in peace dear Billie, we barely knew you, but we liked you.
The Oiler's Timeline