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…
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