Analysis Of Shackleton's Endurance

A polar explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton led the Imperial trans-Atlantic Expedition, in the first ever attempt to cross the Antarctic continent. On December 5, 1914 the Endurance departs from South Georgia carrying 28 men. The goal was to drop off six men as close to the south pole as possible. Six days later, Shackleton gave the order to enter a gap in loosely packed ice in the Weddell sea, he did not know it at the time but this decision would lead to one of the greatest survival stories of all time.
In 1957, a freelance journalist and former staff writer for Collier’s magazine, Alfred Lansing was inspired to write about the expedition. Lansing’s goal was to accurately, and with as much detail as possible document what happened 43 years earlier.
Endurance was written in the third person and provides the dialog and reactions of the majority of the crew. Lancing had uncovered enough information about any given interaction to make the reader have a sense of how the crew was feeling at the time: the tension in the air “Blackboro was terrified. Bakewell, How, and Mcleod, standing helplessly by, never had expected anything of this nature.” (28), the urgency of a situation “even frail Charlie Green, the cook, hurried through his bread-making to join his ship mates,” (40), and even the motivation of individuals in the text “Greenstreet, always plain-spoken and never one to dodge the issue,” (40). Scattered throughout the book are journal entries from the crew, detailing the trivial events of everyday life on the
The book begins with the scene of the Endurance being crushed by massive ice flows as the exhausted men give up on their futile attempt to save the ship “More than any other single impression in those final hours, all the men were struck, almost to the point of horror, by the way the ship behaved like a giant beast in its death agonies.” (7). Much like a journalist writing a newspaper article, Lansing’s introduction was chosen to hook the reader’s attention as well as create suspense for readers who had no prior knowledge. Due to the repetitive nature of the expedition Lancing is able to keep the reader’s attention through the anticipation of not knowing which routine decision will cause the men to become stranded in some of the worst weather on the planet.
Endurance should be read by a historian interested in expanding their knowledge on the subjects as well as any casual reader that is looking for an in depth adventure