Endurance: Part 3, Chapters 4-6

Sea Leopard

           These chapters of Alfred Lansing’s Endurance introduce the reader to even more dangers that Shackleton’s crew faced, including sea leopards, cracking ice, and starvation. The men faced each of these hazards with exceptional bravery, but each time one of the problems was taken care of, another would appear. This reminds me of the disasters that have plagued Japan recently. At first the country was struck with an earthquake in early March of this year, but even as relief aid began, the earthquake caused a tsunami that led to even more damage and chaos. Then, as these two disasters were being dealt with, nuclear explosions and leaks occurred at a power plant, further increasing the death toll to over 22,000 people. As one crisis was beginning to be repaired, another came and completely shattered all of the progress that had previously been made. Just as this happened recently in Japan, the same predicament arose almost 100 years ago in remote Antarctica among 28 stranded men.

Onomatopoeia, a word created from the replication of natural sounds, is one of the literary terms used by the author, in these chapters. Chunks of ice have slowly been breaking off of the ice floe that the crew has been living on, and Lansing uses onomatopoeia to share that experience of the crew with the reader.

            “Crack! Again the floe had split in two, this time exactly through the spot where Shackleton’s tent had stood some minutes before. The two halves drew rapidly apart, separating the Stancomb Wills and a large amount of provisions from the rest of the party,” (137).

            The ice floe on which Shackleton’s crew set up camp had been continuously breaking apart, but this time, the men could not work around the damage. There was barely any room left for the men on the floe, and the decision was made to climb into boats the crew had brought, even though the intense pressure of the ice could destroy them in seconds. The use of onomatopoeia to portray this dangerous event allows a reader to feel the shock of the breaking ice along with the crew.