The Chip (Chapters 4-6 of Part II)

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

Alfred Lansing



"These weeks of primitive living had been peculiarly enriching.  The men had been forced to develop a degree of self-reliance greater than they had ever imagined possible . . . .  In some ways they had come to know themselves better."
page 87

Even though death was an almost certainty, life on the ice floe was enjoyable.  Few of the men even missed their British societies.  Life on the ice provided a new and more simple outlook on life; men were forced to be productive to survive.  Also, because of the simplicity of life, the true identities of the men became evident to everyone, especially themselves.  This retreat into nature is also seen in the Disney movie The Lion King.  Like the stranded crew, Simba was forced into the wild after the death of his father Mufasa.  Simba meets two friends, Timone the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog, who teach him the basics of surviving in the jungle.  Over the years, Simba, with the help of his two closest friends, realizes his true identity.  However, the realized identities of the crew did not lead them to kill their uncles who usurped their fathers' thrones.  Nor were their uncles the lion versions of Jafar from Disney's Aladdin.

However, dissent and unhappiness found a way into the community of sailors.  From their base on a large ice floe, the crew was still able to see the trapped Endurance.  One day, the pressure from the ice failed, and the Endurance slipped into the ice waters of the southern Atlantic.  Lansing describes the sadness of the crew in an analogy: "But the reaction was largely a sentimental one, as after the passing of an old friend who had been on the verge of death for a long time."  By use of the analogy, Lansing compares the mourning of the crew after the loss of the Endurance to the mourning of a very sickly friend.  Although they knew eventually she would be lost, they still carried the sense of a lost friend with them. 

Trouble also came as a result of Shackleton's ill fated decision to leave their camp on the ice floe.  After drifting to the east for a few days and fearing the demoralization of the crew due to the use of profanity, Shackleton decided the best course of action was to make progress to the west.  However, this plan was unpopular with the crew from the start.  Shackleton attempted to assuage their uneasiness, he ordered an early feast in celebration of Christmas.  However, this did not succeed in permanently keeping spirits high.  McNeish, who saw himself as a lawyer, refused to push the boats any further, arguing that he was not legally bound to the crew since the Endurance sank.  Shackleton was able to convince him and the others that they were still bound by contract, but he never stopped fearing a large mutiny.  In addition, the crew was forced to return to their camp after reaching impassible ice.  The sense of failure, fatigue, and mistrust had created a chip in the unity of the crew that, if not repaired soon, would result in the shattering of the crew.