Endurance, SECTION 2, Part 1, Ch 3-8

            This next section goes on to describe the start of the expedition aboard the ship, Endurance. After months of preparations and retrieving all the crew members, they headed off without a single clue of what was in store for all of them. After a few days of sailing, nothing seemed to be going wrong except for finding a stowaway on board. The problems didn’t arise until Shackleton was informed of the ice conditions in the Weddell Sea. Using the summer months to try and advance further into the Antarctic, they were unable to cover much ground before the ship couldn’t navigate through the ice at all, meaning the crew would have to endure a winter on the ship. Preparations were soon made to make it through the darkness of the winter months, and although the entire crew was often bored and faced harsh cold, depression, and lack of sunlight, they rarely formed a close bond. The dogs also faced hardship, battling disease and even death. However, as the summer months approached and the crew gained more confidence in the ship’s strength, the Endurance was continuously tested with “ice attacks” as Shackleton describes them. However, the no one aboard was prepared for the night when the ice would prevail and begin to sink the ship. After days of struggle, it was clear that they would have to abandon ship.

In the year they had been traveling thus far, the crew aboard the Endurance had faced many hardships on their journey. “In all the world there is no desolation more complete than the polar night.” Boredom, depression, extreme temperatures, and darkness were only a few of the countless adversities they had encountered. Similarly, back in the days of the slave trade, the captives from Africa faced many of these same issues. Each day the crew of the Endurance would wake up to some extent of uncertainty as to what lie ahead in the future weeks months or even hours. In the same way, the captives had no idea what was in store for them and each day they would wonder what their future would hold.



Slaves aboard a ship during the slave trade



            The literary term that best applies to this section would be foreshadowing.  Once the ship was a goner and all the members of the crew were forced to abandon ship, it was clear that any type of “plan” was completely out of the question. Each day would be a struggle in and of itself, and survival was the only plan left to hope for. This sinking of the ship foreshadows the long struggle that awaits the crew of the Endurance.