Endurance, SECTION 6, Part 3, Ch 4-6

            This sixth segment of the book was actually one of the more eventful sections in Endurance. From watching day and night for the next destination, to the food scare, the events in this part of the novel proved a true test for Shackleton and his men. Plagued with one predicament after another, the team faced extreme hunger, a fear of dying due to cracked ice, and dangerous sea leopards to name a few.

            Their future seemed to look bright for a while when their food supply was replenished with sea leopard and they spotted an island not too far from them. However, the good fortune was short-lived as the next few days included having to leave their camp because of a huge split in the ice. With the continuous strain of dilemma after dilemma, I am reminded of our country earlier in the year when the tornado season approached and many cities were destroyed by the powerful winds. Many of the nation’s states were terribly affected by the tornadoes, leaving many without homes, jobs, or anywhere else to go. Nonetheless, these tragedies brought together communities; with people helping to rebuild, not only homes and buildings, but also lives, the disasters didn’t break the community, they only strengthened it. Likewise, the crew of the Endurance didn’t sever the team, but revived it again with the hope of survival.



Macklin with two of his dogs



The literary term I chose for this portion of the book is symbol. The symbol I chose to point out was the dogs. Until they were killed and used as food, they symbolized some sort of tie to civilization: something that the crew could attach themselves to and love. Lansing states, “Macklin was almost sick as he unharnessed one dog at a time and took it around the protective mound of ice.” This shows that even though they knew their duty, they still found it difficult to destroy one of the few things that still gave them joy.