Alfred Lansing
The aurora australis.
"There was very little to occupy them, and they were in closer contact with one another than ever. But instead of getting on each other's nerves, the entire party seemed to become more close-knit."
page 42
The expedition began as planned. After several stops on islands and practical jokes by the crew, the ship finally encountered the dangerous ice. After escaping an ice floe, in an allusion to the conquistador Balboa, Warsley, a crew member, wrote in his journal, "We feel as pleased as Balboa when, having burst through the forest of the Isthmus of Darien [Panama], he beheld the Pacific." The crew shared Shackleton's sense of importance. However, the opportunity for progress would not last.
The ship became trapped by the floes of ice, and the crew faced certain death by starvation. Despite all odds, they managed to survive their icy captivity. Every man pulled his weight to maintain the ship and to hunt the seals and penguins for food. Unexpectedly, Shackleton's impulsive hiring of the crew allowed them to survive. It turned out that Shackleton was very perceptive and a good judge of character. This was made evident when the polar winter-literally months without the sun-finally came.
Even though nearly thirty men were forced to close quarters, they got along fine. In fact, only one person ever posed a threat to the peace: a man by the name of John Vincent who sought to establish himself as the most dominant of the crew. However, after a brief talk with Shackleton, he dropped his delusions of grandeur. The crew was able to entertain itself through dog sled races, gambling, music, and performances. In addition, the landscape itself helped maintain the morale of the crew: the majestic icebergs and stunning aurora australis lights captivated them. In another show of leadership, Shackleton was able to lead his men through the winter by maintaining their morale.
The ship, on the other hand, proved unable to resist the pressure of the ice, and Shackleton ordered the crew to abandon ship.
The story of adventure and peril reminds me of the story of The Lord of the Rings written by J. R. R. Tolkien. Like the crew, the members of the Fellowship of the Ring faced both dangers from the outside and within. The forces of the Dark Lord Sauron and mistrust within the Fellowship threatened to destroy their cause: to destroy the ring. The Fellowship was able to withstand the pressures and grow closer to each other. While reading about the crew's resilience to each other, I could only think of one quote about Frodo's resilience to the ring made by Elrond in the Peter Jackson movie The Fellowship of the Ring: "He has shown great resilience to its evil."
The expedition began as planned. After several stops on islands and practical jokes by the crew, the ship finally encountered the dangerous ice. After escaping an ice floe, in an allusion to the conquistador Balboa, Warsley, a crew member, wrote in his journal, "We feel as pleased as Balboa when, having burst through the forest of the Isthmus of Darien [Panama], he beheld the Pacific." The crew shared Shackleton's sense of importance. However, the opportunity for progress would not last.
The ship became trapped by the floes of ice, and the crew faced certain death by starvation. Despite all odds, they managed to survive their icy captivity. Every man pulled his weight to maintain the ship and to hunt the seals and penguins for food. Unexpectedly, Shackleton's impulsive hiring of the crew allowed them to survive. It turned out that Shackleton was very perceptive and a good judge of character. This was made evident when the polar winter-literally months without the sun-finally came.
Even though nearly thirty men were forced to close quarters, they got along fine. In fact, only one person ever posed a threat to the peace: a man by the name of John Vincent who sought to establish himself as the most dominant of the crew. However, after a brief talk with Shackleton, he dropped his delusions of grandeur. The crew was able to entertain itself through dog sled races, gambling, music, and performances. In addition, the landscape itself helped maintain the morale of the crew: the majestic icebergs and stunning aurora australis lights captivated them. In another show of leadership, Shackleton was able to lead his men through the winter by maintaining their morale.
The ship, on the other hand, proved unable to resist the pressure of the ice, and Shackleton ordered the crew to abandon ship.
The story of adventure and peril reminds me of the story of The Lord of the Rings written by J. R. R. Tolkien. Like the crew, the members of the Fellowship of the Ring faced both dangers from the outside and within. The forces of the Dark Lord Sauron and mistrust within the Fellowship threatened to destroy their cause: to destroy the ring. The Fellowship was able to withstand the pressures and grow closer to each other. While reading about the crew's resilience to each other, I could only think of one quote about Frodo's resilience to the ring made by Elrond in the Peter Jackson movie The Fellowship of the Ring: "He has shown great resilience to its evil."
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