At first glance, it might seem that the point behind this poem is to warn others to not bother chasing fruitless dreams. Either this, or why we should do ignore the criticisms of others, while in pursuit of our goals. But upon closer reading, I do not believe the purpose of this poem shares anything in line with either of these points.
I say this because there seems to be a finality to the words of the man chasing the horizon. It is not as if he still chasing a goal, but is rather, living within the confines of the goal he has obtained. And this is an entirely different concept. Because sure, there is room for doubt when we are pursuing our goals, but once we have achieved them, there is no denying we made them happen.
Stephen Crane's poem “I Saw a Man Pursuing the Horizon” is about a man pursuing an impossible dream. Just as we can never reach the horizon, no matter how hard we try, so the man in the poem has set himself a goal that he can never achieve. At the same time, most readers of the poem feel more than a little sympathetic to the man. No one really likes to be told that they can't do something, that whatever they're doing is futile, as the speaker of the poem says to the man. Everyone has their dreams, and no matter how unrealistic they may be, we don't take too kindly to anyone trying to rain on our parade. Those dreams are special; they are unique to us, and we want to hold on to them for as long as we can. Besides, many great men and women of the past—scientists, inventors, innovators—were doubtless told that their dreams were impossible to realize, and yet they achieved.
Whenever I read the poem, I always picture the man as a kind of eccentric genius, a scientist perhaps, who's been rudely interrupted in his experiments by the nay-saying speaker. That's why I remain firmly on the side of the man pursuing the horizon, and why I want him and countless others like him to keep on reaching.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50457/i-saw-a-man-pursuing-the-horizon
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