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.