Blog Twelve: Endurance Pg 274

The final and most significant turning point in the entire novel is undoubtedly when they men were reintroduced into society and met with the whaling stations lead. As this quote shows, the accomplishment made by the men was unbelievable, “When he saw the three men he stepped back and a look of disbelief cam over his face. For a long moment he stood shocked and silent before he spoke.

“Who the hell are you?” he (Sorlle) 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(Lansing 274).” The dialogue between these two men may have been small, but the words spoken really said a million words. They men had made it and they survived though all believed that they had perished a year earlier. The simple sentence Shackleton spoke, though short, was able to tell Sorlle thousands of things about the voyage. There is no doubt that there were many other turning points in the novel like the twenty-eight men reaching land or the six people on the rescue party meeting land as well. However, there is not question that the greatest point and accomplishment in the novel was when the people who gave up hope for that forsaken crew saw that man's will and determination prevailed.

Blog Eleven: Endurance Pg 236

The irony throughout this novel continually astounds me. Though the men were covered in blisters and quenching in discomfort, they were relaxed. “Their legs from the knees down were chafed and raw from the countless punishing trips crawling across the rocks in the bottom. And all of them were afflicted with salt water boils on their wrists, ankles, and buttocks. But had someone unexpectedly come upon this bizarre scene, undoubtedly the most striking thing would have been the attitude of the men...relaxed, even faintly jovial-almost as if they were on an outing of some sort(Lansing 236).”

Time and time again throughout the novel, Lansing shows example of how even though the men may be in dire situations, they still do not have the attitude that one would expect. I believe that the reason that this is, is because of the close bond that these men had created by spending so long together through so many challenging situations. Due to the close connection that these men had, they began to trust in each other. They knew somewhere deep down that the man next to me will help me in whatever way they can if the time comes. Also, the fact that a man was not alone during this whole ordeal made the journey much easier to bare. Having to share a similar fate with someone else allows there to be an almost relaxed feeling based on the knowledge that one does not have to go through the challenge alone.

Blog Ten: Endurance Pg 229

Throughout the novel and mostly in the later parts of it, Alfred Lansing wants the reader to feel for the men stuck in their desperate situation.  When reading, one can just feel the pathos he is trying to evoke.  "One-third of the sentence had been served." No, they are no in prison, they are not enclosed in a building, and they are not actual convicts.  Instead the six men sent on the rescue journey are prisoners to the seas enclosed in the only sea worthy vessel they could muster. We, as readers, have been feeling for all the men throughout the novel, but as the book progresses, we begin to feel more and more sympathy for them.  Their situations never improves for more than a day at a time and it truly is like they are imprisoned.  For the men on the island, their situation is not much better.  They are also stuck there without the capabilities to help themselves.  Being stuck in the shelter that they constructed sitting on their desolate island truly does compare to being imprisoned.

Blog Nine: Endurance Pg 203

The motif of waiting and trying to survive was becoming all too familiar for the remaining crew of the Endurance.  They waited every day for months for the rescue boat that they had hoped would save them from the terrible piece of rock they resided on. "Every morning i go to the stop of the hill, and in spite of everything i cannot help hoping to see a ship coming along to our relief." Everyday for months Hurley along with others climbed that hill to look for salvation.  The theme does not just apply to the island though.  Even on the ice, they still expected something to go their way and in a way, save them.  They hoped that just maybe something would eventually aid in their progress. This theme constantly appeared throughout the book as something to be expected.

Blog Eight: Endurance Pg 179

The use of an exclamation mark in Alfred Lansing's novel could only mean one thing...something amazing has occurred.  Hurley wrote, " How delicious to wake in one's sleep and listen to the chanting of the penguins mingling with the music of the sea.  To fall asleep and awaken again and feel this is real.  We have reached the land(Lansing 179)!!) This exclamatory sentence truly does convey the feelings most of the men were feeling as they finally stepped onto something solid and something they knew would always be beneath them as long as they stayed there.  Progressing through school, I know that a exclamation mark signifies something has happened or someone is extremely excited. As we see in this quote, both of those things apply.  The men, having been stuck on frozen water for 495 days, finally have a feeling of security and protection from the environment.  Though they are not completely safe yet, their minds can be put to ease.  They no longer had to worry about which direction they were headed, the ice cracking beneath them, or whether the presence of a bird was a good or bad thing.

Blog Seven: Endurance Pg 166

Shackleton may have seemed to be a stoic and generally straight forward man, but he eventually proved to be susceptible to things he could not control. Though he seemed to be a flat character throughout the extent of the journey, he really turns out to be a round character in a way. “Shackleton, for once, agreed to the separation; at least, he granted Worsley permission to proceed independently(Lansing 166).” Though this simple granting of a subordinates will my seem insignificant, Shackleton had remained determined to stick to his own path without the input of anyone else having any significance. Seeing that this stoic man eventually had to, in his own way, reach out for help shows that being a solid figure all the time is not possible. Every person will eventually need the help of others. Shackleton, a brave and strong man realized that though he still will be in command, he needed the advice and help from the others around him. His surrender of his normal way of controlling the group may have been a different or uncomfortable position for him, but he realized because of his vast experience that no man can lead by themselves through such a hostile environment.

Blog Six:Enurance Pg. 187

The mood in this novel really travels like the contour of a mountain.  In the beginning the hopes were as would be suspected and generally high.  As they made progress and showed signs of good things their spirits soured.  However, the progress was soon halted and all spirits went down hill from there.  As this quote shows, anything new can bring the spirits of the men up even if it is only slightly. "That soot blackened floe which had been their prison for nearly four months-whose every feature they knew so well, as convicts know each crevice of their cells; which they had come to despise, but whose preservation they had prayed for so often-belonged now to the past.  They were in the boats...actually in the boats, and that was all that mattered(Lansing 141)."  The men's spirits were down for so long after the Endurance went down that anything of change would naturally bring their spirits up.  More often than not, anything that was an expected or hoped for change would only bring good things for them.