In the Heart of the Sea

In the plaza of the Sea The new(a) In the middle of the Sea The calamity of the Whale send off Essex, by Nathaniel Philbrick, successfully tells the story of the goliath ship Essex that was attacked by a spermatozoon run 1,500 nautical miles west of the Galapagos, 40 miles south of the equator. Many sight know this as the story of Moby Dick, which was based despatch this event. The new(a) highlights three themes man versus nature, survival, and suffering. The novel starts out in the town of Nantucket, an island off the eastern coast of New England.Nantucket, at this magazine, is know as whiz of the most successful whaling ports. Docked on the port was the famous Essex, a 20 year whaling sauceboat. The Essex is the pride of Nantucket. It is 87 feet long, 238 tons, equipped with 12 navigates and carried several small whaling boats that were used when a whale was spotted. After outlasting many years, the Essex veritable a reputation for being a lucky ship. Many voyages l asted well-nigh 2 to three years in the Pacific Ocean. Many new-fashioned boys, much(prenominal) as doubting Thomas break awayerson, joined whaling crowds at a young age.These caboodles were mixed of undergo whalers and green hands, hands who have never sailed on a whaling ship. Usually, these new crew components would earn around $150 for dickens years pee, so the experienced workers made the most of these green hands. Nantucket was known for its whale products, and was considered the whaling capital of the world. Whale oil was used to fuel lamps and make lamps (because there is no electricity, gas or kerosene). It is similarly used in margarine, shoe polish and soap. Baleen is a substance that fall downs from the mouths of the whale.They can be fix in many wo manpowers c stackhing. These two important goods come from whales and the only way to obtain the oil and baleen is to make a voyage out to key out and find the whales. At the beginning of the novel, we ar in troduced to the town of Nantucket and whaling business. His discussions of this set us up for the events following later in the book. Philbrick also intercourses about the relationship between the colonists in Nantucket. They ar very close, drawn together by their Quaker religion, similar experiences, and their interests in whaling.In the town, there is a hierarchy within the people. Where a person put upd in the town was based on what rank they atomic number 18 in their society. The sea professionals home would usually have the best view of the harbor. The cardinal black crewmen who were brought over to the crew were out casted, and relied on each other. The novel highlights the dangers of being a whaler. Young crewmen, such as Nickerson, were there to benefit experience for future travels. Nantucket was brought together by the whaling indus demonstrate, and the residential area would usually see ships off before they took off.The Essex sailed off from Nantucket on August 12, 1819 under the demand of 28 year-old Captain George trim, Jr. He spent the last foursome years on the Essex, and knew it very well. However, Philbrick points out that canvas was not correct for be a captain, and we see why later on in the book. Owen train is the captains first of all of all dude, and Matthew Joy was the second partners. The Essex was operated with a 21-man crew. In chapter 2, Philbrick describes the ship. Also, in this chapter, we get a feel for the isolation of the outsiders. The captain and his partner offs would sleep in cabins that were in the back of the ship, next, the Nantucket colonists would stay in the steerage, and the blacks, separated by the blubber room, stayed in front of the boat. After they insert on their journey, the men begin to complain about their rations. Pollard, was able to lambaste them into settling for what they had, establishing his power and authority. In chapter 5, on November 20, the crew spots whales 40 miles south of the equator. cut through and his crew go later on a whale, which destroys their boat with its tail.When they bring their boat back to the Essex, they spot a huge sperm whale near the bow of the ship calmly and quietly afloat(p) along the surface of the pissing. The whale began to move quickly towards the ship. The men try to steer Essex away from the whale, more(prenominal)over are unsuccessful. The whale rams the ship with its head, and the men are amazed. After the whale compensates itself, it struck the ship again, causing the Essex to slide down bow-first. The men board their whaleboats after a night of preparation of deviation the Essex. They stripped the sails of the ship and attached them to their boats.The waves splashed over the boat, causing the work to be more difficult. The next morning, the boats take off. track and Pollard talk of where to go now that their ship has sunk. They speak about going to the Galapagos Islands, entirely Pollard tellingd the win d direction would not allow them to go there. Next, they speak about the Marquesas, in the west. The men had heard that the inhabitants of the island were cannibals. South of the Marquesas were the Tauamotu Archipelago Islands, notwithstanding the men had also heard that the islands have a bad reputation.In this conversation, we notice the colonists outlook on the unknown. They share a sensory faculty of togetherness within each other and no one else. We see this in the attitude of the colonists towards the black crewmen. Pollard decides to sail towards the company Islands. There, Pollard axiom a safer environment with little threat. Chase and Joy argue that the Society Islands would not be a good place to sail towards, and they could sail towards Chile or Peru instead. Pollard conforms to this decision. Here we see that Pollard has beget less authoritative after the Essex sinks.In their first three weeks in the boats, the men faced many hardships. They faced thirst and hunger. Their skin had been burnt, salt peeing burned their sores, and the men, being as weak as they were, were unable to course of study the boats. On top of all that, another whale attacks Pollards boat. The men spot an island in the distance and conclude that they have arrived at Henderson Island. There, they found fresh water and ate crabs and birds. They were able to revive themselves, and this gave them a fighting chance of survival. gross chord men chose to stay on the island patch the others left.Pollard promised he would rescue them after he reached South America. They relent back to the ocean, and the men face the same obstacles they faced before they found Henderson Island. The men faced hunger but were still hydrated from the water collected at Henderson Island. Many accepted they werent going to live, and gave up their rations. Joy dies in the voyage, and the men bury him at dead. Bad turns to worse when the men realize there is only enough hardtack to last a day or tw o. On January 20, Lawson Thomas, a black crew member, dies, and the crew contemplates good turn to cannibalism.The men concluded that in cabaret to survive, they essential eat the dead crew members. It is ironic that the men turned to cannibalism, because they feared the inhabitants of the Marquesas. Three months after the Essex sank the be two whaleboats are rescued in antithetic areas along the South American coast. Two men were left lively in Pollards boat and three men in Chases boat. Nickerson, Chase, and Lawrence arrive in Valparaiso, Chile on February 25, 1821, and are taken back to Nantucket aboard whale ship Hero.Both Nantucket and the survivors of the Essex changed after the ships sink. The whaling industry quickly fell to other towns. A flame that burned nearly a third of the town added to the difficulties. The men of the Essex were preoccupied when recalling what happened. Even Chase was deemed insane. This event caused the town of Nantucket to separate. The tow nspeople were no drawn-out bonded by whaling, because the industry made a fall. The surviving men of the Essex became hypocritical, turning to cannibalism, one thing they feared and frowned upon. This event helps us understand what these men had to do when they are stranded, and teaches us the meaning of nature, survival, and suffering.Bibliography Alone in the Pacific. Salariya Publishing. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http//www. salariya. com/web_books/whaling/ altogether/alone. html>. Nantucket Island History. Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http//www. nantucketchamber. org/visitor/trivia. html>. Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship. New York,NY Penguin, 2000. Print.In the Heart of the SeaNicole stag HIST 2300- Christopher Trobridge Writing Assignment One October 16, 2010 In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whale ship Essex In lodge to understand the ramifications of an event such as the sinking of the Essex one needs too understand the community that produces the crew. Nantucket was an island community much more than the literal sense of word. The islanders of Nantucket saw themselves otherwise than the rest of the word. They learned the skills of whaling from the original Wampanoag tribe. They were Quakers with a stoic sense of standards and community.The whale men from Nantucket saw themselves as superior to most other sailors of that time period. Hardship and perseverance were virtues held by the whale men and the women. The women ran the town while the whale men were at sea for years at a time. This type of work ethic and fortitude, and the worlds desire for oil, combined to make the small town of Nantucket one of the richest towns in America. In the Heart of the Sea It also created a close-knit community with a few very successful and powerful families that married with each other maintaining a strong central hierarchy.The sinking of the Essex directly affected the community of Nantucket but it was also far compass to the rest of the country. America was growing as a Nation and its consumption of oil was expanding. The events of the Essex were not only interesting to sailors of the world but also to the mainlanders that consumed the oil. America in the eighteenth hundred and the early nineteenth century were considered a consumer revolution. Of the People No one knew this fact better than the owners of the whale ships. They understood that whale oil was a commodity to be sold.In order to harvest it at a profit they had to balance their expenses. any mate on a whale ship get windd a disunite of the profit that the whale ship would return with the oil it found. The more duty a sailor had on a whale ship, the larger his cut. Every expense, food, gear, clothing, water had to be factored in of doing business. For example the captain received the largest share, collectable to him having the most responsibility, while Thomas Nickersons share was the exp erience he received at a young age on a whale ship plus the room and board that he would receive for two to three years.A berth that occurred early in their journey was a foreboding of things to come. Weeks into there journey the Essex experienced a Knockdown, a knockdown is a severe weather event that led to monetary value of the Essex. Captain Pollard was slow to respond to the weather issue at hand. The result was deterioration to half of their whaleboats that they used to harpoon whales. After the damage was shame Pollard felt it would be best to return to Nantucket to replenish the ship with a new compliment of whaleboats.First mate Owen Chase confident(p) the Captain to proceed on with the whale boats they had with hope of getting more whaleboats of the coast of Africa. This dynamic exposed the type of sailor Captain Pollard was and the type of sailor first mate Chase was. Captain Pollard was proving to be a Captain that had the skills of a first mate and first mate Owen w as showing to have the skills of a Captain. In the Heart of the Sea. These two personalities would continue to show themselves later in there journey after the Essex had sunk. When the Essex was rammed and destroyed by the sperm whale, the crews Nantucket heritage served them well.The officers of the Essex were able to maintain order and stifle any panic by the crewmen. They devised a strategy that first mate Chase had championed. Once again Captain Pollards initial plan was shelved for fist mate Chases plan. The remaining twenty-crew members of the Essex were split into three twenty-five foot whaling boats. Captain Pollard, First mate Chase, and Second officer Hendrix were in charge of the three boats. Even in this situation, a strong sense of the Nantucket community was resident in the contribution of each boat.The majority of the Nantucketers terminate up in Captain Pollards boat. A few of the remaining Nantucketers ended up in First mate Chases boat and the majority of Afric an American sailors ended up in second mate Hendrixs boat. First mate Owen Chase prove to be a relentless advocate for hope. Thomas Nickerson saw another side of First mate Chase when their journey first began by seeing how curt Chase was to the crew. On the island of Nantucket Owen Chase was a gentlemen but at sea Chase took a persona of being very demanding and wanting things done correctly.After the sinking of the Essex the crewmembers were struggling with the situation they were in and Chase changed his method of handling of the crew. When Chase saw the crew was losing spirit he showed a more maternal side. This change in attitude was critical in the survival of the crewmembers that made it. The events that led to the cannibalism of crewmembers of the Essex were presented otherwise to Captain Pollards boat and first mate Chases boat. Captain Pollards and Hendrix boat became separated from Chases boat.The African American crewmembers having a low body fat content and a mineral lacking(predicate) diet became prone to destruction before the Nantucket crewmembers. As the African American crewmembers died the living crewmembers consumed them. When there only living crew members left on Pollards boat they resorted to drawing lots to see who would give up their emotional state as food and who would kill that sailor. On first mate Chases boat one of the sailors passes and the elect to consume his body. It appears that cannibalism was a common event that occurred in these situations.To this day human beings get presented with this dilemma, such as the plane crash in the Andes. As for me I would rather chose death than the consuming of my mates. Spending months at a time with these men I would feel as though I was eating a family member and would rather wait for death than eat a fellow mate. Although I would have the pressure of supporting my family and wanting to return home, eating a human being I believe would be a lot easier said then done. In the grief th at Captain Pollard experienced having to eat his nephew then facing his Aunt would be something I dont think I could endure or ever live with.For Nantucket and the men involved in whale hunting it is more than honorable a hunt. It was a way of life, a way of survival, and the entire accent of a town. This novel contained more than just the story of the ramming of the Essex, it was more of a story of the hardships faced, the dedication that comes with the job of whaling, and the raw emotions of the men involved. This novel proved the importance of whaling in that time period to not only Nantucket but to the entire Nation, and how it foreshadowed how our economy would be today.Lastly to end with the mission of the Nantucket Quakers to maintain a peaceful life on land while raising all-fired havoc at sea. This was their life, their survival and it now is their history. Works Cited James Oakes, Michael Mcgerr, Jan Ellen Lewis, Nick Cullather, Jeanne Boydston. Of the People A history of the United States. New York Oxford University Press. Nathaniel Philbrick. In the midpoint of the seaThe tradgedy of the Whaleship Essex New York Penguin Books, 2000.