The Titanic was overrated anyway

The Convergence of the Twain
Thomas Hardy

The structure of the poem creates an air of irony around the Titanic. Though it was created with beauty, extravagance, and invincibility in mind, every stanza ends with the imagery of the current resting place of the ship. The ship sailed as a fantastic vessel, but couldn't avoid a doomed fate and now resides at the bottom of the sea. Not only did the ship meet a grim fate, but now it is no longer idolized, for it is inhabited by sea creatures and decay that show no appreciation for what the Titanic once was. A glimpse of symbolism comes from the terms twin and two. "On being anon twin halves of one august event" and "jars two hemispheres" (Hardy 779) allude to the rise and fall of the Titanic, as well as the connection between the two sides of the world. The ship was meant to be a link between lavish Europe and unexplored America, but its wreckage became a model of arrogance. It showed the two hemispheres that problems can occur, and it is important to slow themselves down as to not cause another disaster. The twin halves of the ship would forever serve as an example  to the world of what can come from those who become over confident with their work.

Part 7 Ch 1-3 Endurance. Lit term-resolution

The book concludes with this part, as the men are on South Georgia Island, and ends with the epilouge. In order to get rescue, the men must find the whaling station to radio in some help. Shackleton suggest that half the team stays at the camp while the other men go on a some-what dangerous journey to the station. This section of the book is simply the resolution, so its not the most exciting part. However, it does answer the questions of how and when the rescue arrives. One of the few intense parts is when the searchers come across a steep cliff that must be slid down, and the men narrowly escape severe injuries.

The reader is relieved at the end of this part when Shackleton arrives at the whaling station. He heads to Sorlle, the man in charge, and Sorlle questions, " 'Who the hell are you?' he said at last. The man in the center stepped forward. 'My name is Shackleton,' he replied in a quiet voice. Again there was silence. Some said that Sorlle turned away and wept." He wept because many thought Shackleton was dead from the sinking of the Endurance, and Sorlle thought he had lost a friend. But now, everything was all right, for Shackleton was alive and rescue would be sent for the rest of his crew!

Part 6 Ch 4-6 Endurance. Lit term-climax

These chapters continue with the men trekking through the seas. The ocean waters are constantly attacking the ship, and water is almost always being emptied out. Possibly the most tremendous loss the men suffered was when their sea anchor, a piece of equipment that kept the boat relatively secure during the night, is lost to the sea. To add to the danger,  their water supply upon the boat had been tainted by the salt. Land was now necessary to find for water and for peace of mind. Once land is finally reached, the men just stare, awe struck. After some time, the go and hurriedly find water, then begin to indulge in the liquid goodness.

The climax is reached when the men reach South Georgia Island. The climax is reached quite well with the rising of suspense: "Soon the foggy mists began to break up...at noon the fog was almost gone...'Land!'" This was easily the most interesting chapter, and part of the book to read. Suspense is key ingredient to any story that wants to keep a reader's attention, and the story of Endurance does it marvelously.

Part 6 Ch 1-3 Endurance. Lit term-concrete details

Part six starts at the same time the men in the Caird departed for South Georgia Island, but in the rescuers point of view. The action almost explodes immediately when the boat must be on constant alert for ice chunks that can batter the boat. Furthermore, the group is in one of those most vicious sections of sea known to man, so battering waters are a prevalent threat. One can tell that Shackleton is finally feeling the toll of this journey, and he even looks to Worsley for a confidence boost, asking if he had made the right decisions. Overall, the waves and sea spray was harsh, but the thought of rescue gave the men the energy to continue on!

Concrete details appear quite frequently throughout this section because the author wants to perfectly illustrate how frightful the sea had been during the voyage to S.G. Island. A wave had crashed onto the Caird and, "Then green, foaming water rolled across the decking, splashed into the cockpit and drained down into the boat in icy streams... ." Many times the boat and its struggle were remarkably depicted and drawn in the reader, and this kept the reader continually reading more.

Part 5 Ch 4-6 Endurance. Lit term-setting

After the rescue squad leaves, the other 22 men are forced to live in blizzard-like conditions during this section in part 5. Almost immediately, the men construct a proper, structured hut with the two remaining boats as the roof. The fort had many problems, but as they arose, they were solved with surprising skill. Overall, this section was boring, for it was just the daily problems that the men ran into. The reader was kept occupied with several medical procedures, the fortification of the hut, and the daily watches for a rescue ship. The part concludes with the men still waiting as it is mid August.

A great majority of these chapters describes the setting of the hut and of the outside, snow-covered island. For example, "During the day enough light filtered through the canvas roofing so that the men could make their way about..." The other instances of setting reference would be the glacial cave they would go to to harvest ice (to use for water) and the sleeping arrangements spread about the floor of the fort.

Part 5 Ch 1-3 Endurance. Lit term-dilemma

Part 5 starts off with the crew getting reluctantly accustomed to Elephant Island. The place they originally docked at proved to be too small for comfortably safe living conditions, so a few men go out to look for a new camp. it takes a whole day, but the men finally return with a new campsite. The men are forced into the boats one more time to go to their new campsite. Once they finally get settled in, Shackleton announces what they all knew was coming, an effort to go for rescue. Six men, including Shackleton, were to go to South Georgia Island to call for rescue, while the rest of the men staying at Elephant Island. Chapter 3 wraps up by the men preparing the ship and sending the small crew off to find rescue.

An emotional quote came at the departure of the separate crews when, "Finally the two crews leaned across and shook hands." Even though neither team may never see eachother once again, they still treated it as business as usual. This shows the perseverance the crew as a whole had for the situation they were in.

The lit term dilemma fits nicely into this section because Shackleton bore the burden of finding the new camp and picking a rescue squad out of the entire crew. For one man to carry such an immense decision must have burdened him, but he rarely showed signs of weakness: a characteristic of a true captain.

Part 4 Ch 4&5 Endurance. Lit term-fantasy

The effects of frostbite and exhaustion really peak during chapters 4 and 5, yet the men also get extremely near to their destination of Elephant Island. Happiness is mixed in with feelings of intense despair. As they approached the island, Worsley, the captain of the Docker suggested to Shackleton that the boats be split up to find land independently. Shackleton agreed as long as Worsley stayed in sight, but as somewhat expected, the Docker later vanished into the darkness. After several useless attempts to signal the Docker, the other boats moved on and reached the island and eventually found a place to dock. AS luck would have it, Worsley and his men met up with the rest of the crew as they were landing onto the island. the end of part 4 is all around a victory.

The most moving quote in part 4 comes when they crew finally land the boats: "For the first time in 497 days they were on land. Solind, unsinkable, immovable, blessed land." This quote fits in with the lit term fantasy because the land was a fantasy world to the men. They hadn't experienced the feeling of earth in a year and a half. Even though the men weren't saved, they were still the happiest they had been since the sinking of thier beloved home away from  home, the Endurance.

Part 4 Ch 1-3 Endurance. Lit term-pathos

Part 4 starts from the departure of Patience Camp and ends on Elephant Island, meaning the men are almost always afloat during this section of the novel. For the first s, the men camped upon an iceberg, got a meal, slept, and took turns surveying the berg to ensure safety. Several times throughout these chapters, then men narrowly escape death while rowing, whether it be from the wind, waves, or ice, they were lucky to get out alive. Eventually, the crew was forced to stay up all night and row, getting only milk and biscuits as food. They fought hunger, frost bite, thirst, and worst of all, exhaustion. This entire part is filled with suspense making it nearly impossible for the reader to put it down.

Pathos is the term i picked for this section, because the reader is constantly sad for the individuals living in this situation. For example, "As the hours dragged by and their agony deepened, the men in the Docker fought back with the single pitifully ridiculous weapon they had--curses." Their situation was so soul-crushing that the men would just swear at everything, making the reader feel even worse for them to go through such torment. 

Part 3 Ch 2-6 Endurance. Lit term-motivation

The men are more or less joyful in the beginning of this group of chapters because the wind is acting in their favor. A great deal of game is also available for food and activity for the crewmen. Once the wind dies down, the men are left with nothing to do once more. Later in the chapters their floe at Patience Camp begins to deteriorate and men are always on the look out for cracks. Birds, penguins, and whales alike begin to fill the nature surrounding their floe, indicating open water for the boats to escape to. By the end of part three, the boats are launched making a mad dash to escape the ice that is closing in on them.

Three words were easily the most powerful words of the whole part. "Launch the boats," said by Shackleton. These words sparked a plethora of energy and persistence within the men to gather supplies and leave the dreaded floe. Their bodies needed to hear those words so that to believe in the expedition once more. They needed that as the gateway to their rescue.

For most of this part, motivation is absent among the men. but toward the end of the chapters, when escape seems more likely, motivation is filled into the hearts of the crew as they train their minds for every outcome of this adventure. This motivation literally lets them keep their sanity.

Part 3 Ch 1 Endurance. Lit term-implication

Part 3 begins with the crew in their new location: Mark Time Camp. The purpose of staying there was to make forward progress, but to be close enough to Ocean camp to make trips there and back to pick up supplies. By the end of this chapter, the crew makes another move to Patience Camp. It was named such to show that the crew would have to wait for the wind and ice to agree with one another so the crew to escape in the boats. Still, morale and food was low amongst the floe and the men were growing tired of the same routine. Luck struck when the when killed a 1,100 pound sea leopard at camp. Otherwise, the chapter consisted of the usual monotony.

A source of drama surrounding this chapter is the rapidly depleting food supply. The men suspect that some of the dogs may be killed due to a rumor that stated such. This implication puts the saddening thought within the readers mind. "Then, in a quiet, level voice, Shackleton ordered Wild to shoot his own team along with McIlroy's, Marston's, and Crean's." Though depressing, everyone, including the reader, expected it to happen.

Part 2 All chapters (1-6) Endurance. lit term-turning point

Part 2 is a transition from the ship to the ice. The men now have to camp upon a fairly large and thick floe until the ice breaks up and they can get into their boats. The crew established camp some 200 yards away from the trapped ship, and the sounds of its crushing could be heard loud and clear. Almost daily, teams of huskies and men would trek to the ship and back, bringing supplies from its hull. Tremors from the pressure that entrapped the Endurance still rang through their floe that the crew was camping on. They named this place Ocean Camp, and grew accustomed to it. but, by the end of the part, the crew is forced to leave that place in order to advance to their goal of Paulet Island
In the middle of part 2, the crew is stationed at their camp ground when "...they heard the sound of a splintering crack, and looking over they saw [the Endurance's] foremast come crashing down, carrying the blue ensign with it." This epitomizes the transitioning and the lit term turning point because the ship can no longer be safely accessed, and the crew has no other option besides living in nature.

Part 1 Ch 2-8 Endurance, Lit term-Flashback

The rest of part one rewinds time to when the expedition was beginning. It explains Shackleton's thrill for adventure and the long months he spent gathering funds, men, and support for his journey across Antarctica. Once the trip begins, the reader is thoroughly introduced to nearly every significant crew member upon the Endurance. Life within the antarctic night is difficult and new to most of the crew, but the reader experiences it with the men every step of the way. As they enter deeper into ice-infested waters, the boat is onslaughted by ice squeezing the boat with pressure, eventually getting stuck. Part one concludes where it began, the abandonment of the Endurance.

"About midnight, the movement of the ice partly closed the wound in the stern, and the flow of water decreased. But still the hand pumps had to be manned to keep the water from gaining...they stayed at it all night..." Everyone has hope, and the crew hoped that their home and transport Endurance would not have to fall to the ice. All their energy and strength was devoted to saving her and not giving up hope, even though deep down it was futile.

Flashback sums up this section almost perfectly, because chapters two through eight all take place before chapter one. Even though I knew what was eventually coming, it was nice to learn how it happened and who it happened to.