THE LAST POST (for now)

"...they had fixed a hut in which they had waited four long months."

If Dora the explorer had been on that voyage she would have broken into song.  

Sadly she wasn't though :( while Shackleton left to get help, Wild stayed with the rest of the crew and fought the elements to stay alive. The fact that they lived for four (<homonyms)  months on their own shows just how motivated (<vocab word!) they were. So, they had given up hope on being rescued; they were alive and rescued in the end.

The only movie i can think of where someone is ship wrecked and builds a formidable shelter is Disney's Tarzan (also one of my favorite movies). The house they make is phenomenal.  Plus there are tons of other similarities. Both boats sink, both face unpleasant water, and both have to live off the land. The difference is that they shipmates didn't have to learn how to speak gorilla. How cool would a gorilla sound be in a brittish accent? Food for thought that is...Video number two for this post:

And that's the way the cookie crumbles. (Bruce almighty might be my favorite movie.) Until next time, Peace Out Girl Scout

Part 7

"So he suggested they slide."

The three of them (Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean) did what everybody does in the winter. They slid down a snowy slope. The difference is the reason. e do it because its a lot of fun. They did it to except the fact that they might freeze to death. (We also don't have to worry about the slope doing a straight dive and plummeting to our deaths.) The fact that this was an unprotected, not findable, and contained the element of a possibility of DEATH made it less then appealing but, it was still the best option.

This reminds me of last summer. The xc (cross country) team went cliff diving in St. Paul, Indiana. I am petrified of heights. It took a whole lot of convincing plus a full sprint with my eyes closed to go off the 40ft. jump. I don't plan on doing it again nor, do I think Worsley and Crean would redo their scenario if given the chance.

Part 6

"Thus, at 3:10 P.M., Schacketon gave the order to come about."

So close and yet so far. The crew had reached their destiniton with very little correction needed. Once more though, they had to wait even longer to land. The whole part where they would die on the breakers may/may not have had something to do with that decision. So, they had to retreat and wait for better weather.

After two days of fighting, they did it. They reached land. Slightly a bitter sweet moment though. They had to abandon part of the crew before they left.

Another movie reference :D

This reminds me of scrat from Ice Age. He continuously got close to retrieving the nut but, he would lose it when he got close to success. See for yourself:

BONUS POST

"Launch the boats"

The stage is set. All the pieces are in place. A sudden hush falls over the crowd. All of the sudden, it begins. How such a momentous moment in the journey of the crew can be taken so lightly is beyond me. Imagine you were on those boats. You dont know if they float, if the ice will smash you into a billion pieces, or if youll ever find land and be forced to eat each other! (slightly dramatic but, i feel it sets a good mood < vocab word!)

This situation is bigger then any suspenseful event you have ever and possibly will ever participate in. Unless you place your life into the hands of 8 other men and place theirs lives in yours when none of you, not the bravest, smartest, strongest, smallest, or tallest, have any idea as to wheteher you will make it throught the night, then you can not know this feeling.

In todays world, the armed forces put their lives into each others hands day in and day out. They know this suspense. They live it, breathe it, embrace it, and over come it. GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS!!!

Part 5

"Wild and his five men confirmed the fact that this was truly an inhospitable place."

Fear- the greatest of motivators. The speck of land they had camped upon was awful and, this was the only motivation (that which compels a character to act) they needed to change location. As happy as the crew was that they had found land, the whole risking their lives thing was a deterrent. They opted for a slightly more livable place 7 miles up the island. In reality, it is a wise choice. The other island still has seals, penguins, and most importantly is "solid, unsinkable, immovable, blessed land."

WARNING: MORE LORD OF THE RINGS

After Gandalf falls in The Fellowship of the Ring, the rest of the fellowship escapes safely. After a brief moment of security, they are forced to move again. The impending danger forces them to get over themselves and move on.

Part 4

"For the first time in 497 days, they were on land. Solid, unsinkable, immovable, blessed land."

The setting (time, place, and environment in which action takes place) ever since they had left England had been on the water. Therefore, the crew was at the mercy of the wind and current. Now, finally, after countless days of drifting and worrisome nights, they were finally safe. No one can put their feelings into words. The entire mood (emotional atmosphere of a work) of the crew was lifted. The crew was genuinely happy for the first time in a long time. Many of the crew had thought that their friends, the crew on the other boats, had been lost forever. Seeing the othr boats and their crew is like seeing an old friend raised from the dead.

Part 3 ended

"Hope tells a flattering tale."

Personification endowing non-human objects or creatures with human qualities or characteristics. After favorable weather, the crew began to have a positive outlook on their situation.  There were signs of life all around...flocks of birds, penguins, and they had even killed two seals for food.  Everything was looking good for the Endurance.

     But,as always, nothing good can last. As a matter of fact, this is a knock on wood scenario. Without intent, Worsley (the man who said this quote) foreshadowed bad fortune...the floe that the crew had camped on was gradually sinking, at times, splitting down the center causing the relocation of the camp. The crew was afraid that winds were taking them away from their desired location...and then...open water

    

Endurance part 3...more vocab

"More correctly,they became aware of their own inadequacy, of how utterly powerless they were"

     After a year and a half of traveling, the crew of the Endurance finally realized the severity of their situation.  While on a float of ice, nearly the entire crew had an epiphany. An epiphany is a moment of sudden revelation or insight. The reason the reader becomes aware that the majority of the crew had this epiphany is due in part to the narrator (the one who tells the story). The narrator in this story however is able to describe the thoughts, feelings, and actions of the entire crew because he is an omniscient narrator (a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including inner thoughts and feelings of the characters). The ability of this narrator to tell the crews thoughts and feelings helps to bring the book alive. It makes the journey easier to sympathize with.
     The event of this epiphany makes me think of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The men are about to go to war against an army 10 times their own size and realize there is a "certainty of death, small chance of success..." and yet they still go to fight.

Endurance, fastforwarded Part 2

"Then slowly, silently, she disappeared beneath the ice, leaving only a small gap of black, open water to mark where she had been"

     With the loss of the Endurance, not only did the crew lose the boat itself, but also what it stood for.  The boat was a symbol (an object used to represent something else) to the crew.  It symbolized the trials and tribulations that the crewmen encountered and overcame. Now that she (the boat) was gone, they lost a bit of hope inside them that they would be rescued.
     The sinking of the boat and the challenges involved with it make me think of a song called:The Irish Rover. The version i like best is by Off Kilter. it depicts the impractical journey of a ship and all the problems it encounters. For your enjoyment, I'm posting it for you. Be warned, bagpipes are addicting.

Ch3 more shackleton...with vocab :D

"Finally," he thundered, "if we run out of food and anyone has to be eaten, you will be first. Do you understand?"

     Since i have yet to use any vocab words yet, lets get some in here. ^That was an exclamatory sentence, that is, it expressed strong feeling. While you may say that it is a declarative sentence (a sentence that makes a statement or declaration) because there was not exclamation point, you are wrong. you cant just casually tell someone that you are going to eat them. it envokes feeling.
     Anyways, back to the story and for the purpose of this post, more shackleton.  Shackleton was kind of a big deal on the ship.  He was the Chuck Norris (allusion- a reference to something literany, mythological, or historical that the author assume the reader will know) of his time. To loosely quote the book, it was said that if you were in a bad position on a ship you wanted Shackleton.  Had a man that powerful and respected said that to me, i may have actually diedfrom a heart attack.
   

chapter 2: sir ernest shackleton: the man, the myth, the explorer

"I fee that another expedition unless it crosses the continent is not much"- Sir Ernest Shackleton

     As i previously stated (in my first blog), the purpose of Endurance as i perceive it is to enlighten the reader as to the hardships of the journey.  It also displays a character account of the crew.  In this series of posts (my blog), i will try to characterize the crew and describe the hardships as best i can.

     Ernest Shackleton may have been one of the most determined and loyal leaders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (the late 1800's and early 1900's to eliminate any confusion).  Shackleton wasn't inexperienced in seafaring journeys to Antarctica.  This was his 3rd voyage and his second as captain.  Shackleton felt that he owed it to his country to lead an expedition across the continent.  This same loyalty almost stopped the journey from happening.  World War II was just starting and Shackleton almost called the voyage off but, Winston Churchill told him to continue.

     The only other explorer whose idea was as crazy as Shackleton's was Christopher Columbus (we all know how "crazy" that idea was).  His idea that the world was round and that he could travel West to get to the Indies (east of Europe) was just as ridiculous as Shackleton's idea to cross a continent when people tried to go halfway.

Endurance Chapter 1: A New Begining

         

"The order to abandon ship was given at 5 P.M.  For most of the men however, no order was needed because by then everybody knew that the ship was done and that it was time to give up trying to save her."

     At this point in the novel, Alfred Lansing is explaining what the fate of the Endurance is.  Since he immediately revealed the fate of the ship rather then building up suspense and keeping the reader in the dark, he is emphasizing the fact that the story is not about a ship.  Instead, he is emphasizing the real courage of the 27 man crew and the leadership of their captain.  Lansing alludes to this in the preface by stating "Every action has been made to portray the events exactly as they occurred, and...the reactions of the men who lived them."

     While the story of men purposefully abandoning their chance for safety may seem unrealistic and impractical in today's world, that has not always been the case.  For instance, the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae.  These men abandoned their wives, children, and other loved ones in order to protect others.  While the Spartans neither dealt with a ship or sled dogs, they fought against an overwhelming number of Persian soldiers for 3 days (ironically that's how many days the crew of the Endurance fought to save her).  Similarly though, the Spartans knew that they would die on the 3rd day and so, accepted their fate and prepared for the end.