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Frank Hurley in front of the crew's boat-tent
on Elephant Island. |
These chapters of the novel Endurance introduce the reader to the torment the men remaining on Elephant Island experienced. They awoke at dawn every morning with hope that they would be rescued, only to go to bed that evening exhausted and hopeless once more. As each day passes, they push the date that they believe they will be rescued back farther and farther, not wanting to think about the possibility that the James Caird and her passengers had been lost at sea. Although I have stressed the bravery of the crew of the Endurance in my other posts, there is an example of extreme bravery in these chapters. Perce Blackboro was a former castaway on the ship who became a steward. When the crew was traveling to Elephant Island in the boats, Blackboro’s feet had become terribly frostbitten. One of them was in such a dreadful condition that the only option was to amputate it. Dr. James A. McIlroy, a surgeon, slowly removed the foot after briefly knocking out Blackboro with the anesthetic chloroform. Although the surgery was successful, the crew had no pain medications, and the pain that Blackboro was in had to be unbearable. Amazingly though, he just smiled at the doctor and told him that he would really like a cigarette. In that situation, I am pretty sure that I would have not handled my foot being amputated the same way that Blackboro did. I do not ever remember being in extreme pain, but I have seen both of my parents after surgery and with proper medical care, and they looked miserable. The courage and bravery that it took for a man to not complain after an unorthodox amputation is truly astounding.
One of the literary terms that is used in these chapters of the novel Endurance is anecdote.
“As the temperature started to rise, Blackboro was lifted onto the operating table…The anesthetic was to be chloroform-not a very good anesthetic, especially close to an open fire. But it was all they had, and there were only 6 ounces of that. Macklin, who was to administer it, waited for the hut to get warm enough so that the chloroform would vaporize,” (206).
An anecdote, or a brief narrative that focuses on a certain event, is used to describe the amputation of Blackboro’s foot. The anecdote allows readers to really understand the dangers behind this surgery and the risks that were being taken by both the surgeons and the patient. This passage from Endurance is only part of the anecdote about Blackboro’s surgery.
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