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.