Endurance, Part VII

Quote- "They had no medals or decorations to bestow- only their heart-felt admiration for an accomplishment which perhaps only they would ever fully appreciate." 


Discussion- The men are exhausted, but fear that the Caird will be pulled out to sea or dashed into the rocks keeps them all awake.  After many things are removed from the ship to decrease its weight, including the deck, the men can finally muster the strength to pull the boat farther up on the shore.  Shackleton realizes that with the state the ship is in , the best option is for him and a few men to travel across the island on foot to reach the whaling ports.  They sail to the head of King Haakon Bay so that Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean could start off from more hospitable terrain.  Once the weather allowed it, the three men shook hands with the others and quickly set off.  To the disappointment of the party, they were required to retrace their steps many times because their current path was impassable.  The three men walk into the port of Stromness, looking a ghastly sight, and Shakleton is taken to the house of his aqauintance, the regular factory manager.  At first the manager did not recognize Shackleton, for all three of the men were heavily bearded, with stark white skin, except for the soot on their faces, and wore pitifully tattered clothes.  Once Shackleton identifies himself, the men are immediately given the star treatment.  The quote shows that even though the men may not have done exactly what they set out to do when the expedition started, they ended up doing so much more.  Their battle was over, and they have won.  They were alive and well, and that is more than they could have asked for.  They bathe, shave, feast, and put on fresh clothes.  The Samson is sent to retrieve the rest of the men at King Haakon Bay.  Shackleton was anxious to rescue the remaining castaways, but three attempts failed due to the unrelenting ice.  On August 30, a ship was sighted off the coast of Elephant Island.  The castaways cheered loudly and rushed onto the ship.  At last they had been rescued.

Endurance, Part IV, Chapters 4-6

Quote- “Thus, in the space of only an hour, or maybe a little more, the outlooks on board the Caird was completely altered.  The battle was half won, and a warm sun was overhead.”


Discussion- The gale has finally ended and the sun has come out.  The quote demonstrates how even in the worst of situations, the crew is optimistic.  The sun gives hope and they are almost cheerfully looking forward to their future.  I believe their optimism to be outright astounding, considering what they have gone through so far.  Their boat is an absolute mess, their sleeping bags are rotting, their clothes are wet, and they suffer from many different medical ailments.  Nonetheless, the men continue with smiles on their faces.  Strong winds continue to batter the ship, but the men fight back and keep their determination.  Despite their good spirits, the men slowly grow anxious as time passes and still no sight of land.  If they are as close to land as they believe, they should have seen signs of it days ago.  Finally, the fog clears enough for the men to catch a glimpse of a mountain peak.  But to the crew’s utter dismay, the boat cannot land due to the violence of the water crashing into the shore.  Shackleton plans to bring the boat around to a more suitable landing spot, but the boat faces severe weather, enormous swells, and violent currents that threaten to spontaneously end their journey.  In a last desperate attempt, Shackleton uses the last bit of waning daylight to carefully guide the boat through a small opening and onto land.  The men’s only sign of rejoicing is the gusto with which the suck up the water from the melting ice.

Endurance, Part VI, Chapters 1-3

Quote- “Their plight was known only to the six men in this ridiculously little boat, whose responsibility now was to prove that all the laws of chance were wrong—and return with help.”

Discussion- This quote blatantly displays the immensity of the task that lay before the men aboard the Caird.  This mission is the entire expedition’s last hope.  If the crew fails, all the men will die.  Shackleton’s immense ego has been worn down throughout the journey, and now he doubts himself and his ability to successfully complete the mission.  As a round character, he has changed from being strong, determined, and purposeful to being tired, doubtful, and apprehensive.   Ice is at the moment the crew’s biggest worry.  Any decent collision could immediately end their journey.  Another problem was the constant splashing and spraying of water onto the boat and the men.  Life at sea on the small boat was quite uncomfortable indeed.  The men were constantly freezing, wet, and sore.  The winds and the weather are strong and merciless.  The focal point of existence was concentrated into a matter of a few hours.  The men no longer thought of the future, solely the task at hand.  Both the men’s lower extremities and the navigational books were dangerously soaked through.  By the end of April, the men were almost one-third of the way.  Unfortunately, a coating of ice was growing on everything.

Literary Term: round character- Shackleton is an example, as his character and personality has changed drastically as the novel has progressed.

Endurance, Part V, Chapters 4-6

Quote-‘ “We are still enduring our existence here with patience,” Macklin wrote on July 6, “and time really passes fairly quickly in spite of the dreadful tedium…” ’

Discussion- The men that remain on the island have no much more to do than wait for rescue.  At first, many believe the ship will return in a matter of a month or two, but after looking for the ship daily in vain, the men are forced to realize the fact that they must winter on the island.  They build a shelter out of rocks and an upturned boat, and continue to make improvements, though it is far from ideal.  This quote shows that at the beginning, the men had not much else to do but wait to be saved.  They were bored, but they could deal with it as long as they kept their hopes up.  The men read, dream, talk, and write in an attempt to keep their minds of the situation at hand.  Besides that, all they could do was wait and hope.  As time stretched on though, the men grew more discouraged.  To lighten the mood, the men celebrate Midwinter’s Day on June 22.  It becomes harder and harder for the men to keep their spirits up as the days slowly drag on, and still the watchmen see nothing on the horizon.  Another large disappointment among the remaining crew was the usage of the last of the tobacco.  The need was so great that the men tried to smoke different things, such as lichen.  The men were barely holding on.  Two were invalid due to frostbite and many others were ill or suffered from repulsive soars.  As the end of August approaches, the men grow less and less hopeful, and this loss of morale is clearly recorded in all of their diaries.  They begin to wonder if they will ever be rescued.

Literary Term: turning point- A very significant change occurs when Shackleton and his chosen crew set off with all the best supplies and rations to search for help.  The men left behind face an even more difficult existence, and for them, this attempt at a rescue operation is all they have left. 

Endurance, Part V, Chapters 1-3

Quote- “It was security.  The knowledge that, comparatively at least, there was nothing got fear.  There was still danger, of course, but it was different from the imminent threat of disaster which had stalked them for so long.”

Discussion- At last the men had reached the secure land.  They could rest and eat and sleep.  But to their utter dismay, Shackleton soon ordered that the crew take to the boats again to find a better piece of land, for he feared that their camp would eventually be underwater.  The stores were packed and the ships were launched.  Though waters were troublesome, all three ships made it safely to the new site, which was not much better than the old one.  Shelter was quite scarce, and the tents were constantly battered by the wind.  Frostbite was still a major issue, and many men managed to save their hands only after sticking them in the fresh carcasses of penguins or seals.  Even through a severe blizzard, the Caird was being prepared for its journey to South Georgia to search for help.  A large amount of supplies are taken for the other two boats to strengthen the Caird.  Finally conditions are favorable enough for the ship to take off.  Three cheers are given and the boat quickly sails out of sight.

Literary Term: personification- To accurately describe the intensity of the gales, Lansing gives human qualities to the storm when he says, “…the cliffs sucked down on winds passing overhead so that they shrieked down upon the boats, and roared out to sea.”

Endurance, Part IV, Chapters 4 and 5

Quote- “It was more than just a sunrise.  It seemed to flood into their souls, rekindling the life within them.”

Discussion- Many medical ailments were befalling the men, including severe frostbite and salt-water boils. Though the men were still a ways away from land, they pushed on in desperation with the last little strength and ounce of energy they had left.  The sunrise is a symbol of hope for the men.  It is the opposite of the terrifying, freezing, and utterly horrific experience they have been going through on the boats.  Their struggle is not over yet, but the light gives the exhausted men the strength to push forward.  The men still had a long fight ahead of them, but things were looking up.  They finally were able to retrieve some ice to drink, and the Wills and the Caird had finally found a decent spit of land on which to camp.  At the end of the fifth chapter, all three boats were finally reunited and for the first time in 497 days, the men experienced the joyful feeling of being on safe, solid land.

Literary Term: symbol- The sun represents hope.  Its light brightens the men’s spirits and helps them to keep moving forward.

Endurance, Part IV, Chapters 1-3

Quote- “They made a pitiable sight- three little boats, packed with the odd remnants of what had once been a proud expedition, bearing twenty-eight suffering men in one final, almost ludicrous bid for survival.”

Discussion- After finally managing to get away from Patience camp, the men steer the boats toward the nearest land, though due to currents and gales, their target destination constantly changes.  They spend one night on a seemingly secure floe, but must abandon it when it splits.  The next night they try to camp on a floe-berg, but there are many dangers associated with that as well, such as being upended, crushed, or drowned.  Thankfully, before the ice could completely fall apart, a pool opens and the boats were launched once again.  For many nights, the men could not sleep, and did anything they could to try to keep warm.  The men continued to push on, but the nights are getting worse.  A growing problem is the lack of water the men had access to.  No ice had been taken onto the boats, thus the men are dehydrated with dry mouths and cracked, frostbitten lips.  Some even reached the point of not being able to swallow.  The crewmen were so hopeless and desperate that they even tried to pathetically fight their situation by shouting expletives. The quote clearly illustrates how far the men have come from the beginning of their expedition, but not in a good way.  They have gone from the large Endurance to the three smaller boats, from having plentiful stores to being constantly hungry and thirsty, and from being strong, confident, determined men, to men clinging to life.

Literary Term: expletive-An interjection or profanity, which the men frequently shouted. I loosely quote Lansing when I say the men in the Docker fought back with the single pitifully ridiculous weapon they had- curses. They cursed everything cursable…