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.