In the Heart of the Sea

Chapter 14

This is entirely based on the lives of the men after their rescue. I found it totally surprising that all of the men went back on whale boats. Pollard even captained another ship. That journey didn’t fare well to all either. On a particularly rough night his ship was destroyed on a protruding rock. Luckily they had traveled with another ship and were brought aboard by morning. After that Pollard was deemed and utterly unlucky man and he simply joined the neighborhood watch for Nantucket. Owen Chase had five children and continued on whaling expeditions until he was forty-one, at which point he retired for good to care for his children. Thomas Nickerson went on a few more whaling trips then settled in Nantucket became an inn keeper. I thought it was out of the total blue that they went back to do the very thing that had put them in such a life threatening situation.

Chapter 13

These men had been rescued and were on the way home. Just days before, Nantucket, got the news of Captain Pollard’s survival and the man he was with. He figured it was unlikely any of the others had survived. With this news, Nantucket erupted in excitement when three men, who were assumed to be dead, arrived home. However there was no talk of the event at all until Captain Pollard returned home two months later after being deemed fit to travel in South America. I thought it was odd that nothing was said no reports were taken until after the captain returned home.

Chapter 12

At this point in time the men’s luck was close to running out. Only a ship with a kind crew would be able to save them at the point they were at. That is exactly what they stumbled upon. After three months without proper nutrition the men were basically live skeletons they had no fat to speak of, a considerable amount of their muscles atrophied, and shrunken internal organs. Once upon the ship the men were given small portions of tapioca pudding. (pg. 184) When I read this I found it very odd, my first thought was “Why tapioca pudding? That’s odd,” but after thinking about it I realized that the nutritional value of tapioca would be tremendous and rather easy to digest.

Chapter 11

The first breath of cannibalism among the crew is brought to light. By this point Chase’s boast had been separated from the group and the remaining two boats were close to their end of provisions. One man died and rather than dispose of his body immediately they say and looked at it for a while. Finally someone piped up with the option of eating the man, since no one opposed they appointed the cook to prepare the meat. The book went into specific detail about how in an attempt to make it feel less like butchering a human he cut off the head, hands, and feet, also he skinned the body. (pg. 170) Once the men started eating they couldn't stop. This made my completely sick to my stomach! Honestly, when reading this I was holding down vomit. I know that this was a situational thing that only someone in that particular position could feel and they would do whatever to survive, but this just made me ill. Also this was the most ironic part of the book to me because they were going to double the length of their trip to avoid cannibals.

Chapter 10

This chapter focuses on the issue of hunger yet again. They decided, after what they collected on the island was gone, to split the rations partially in half again. The captain and mates decided it would be all but a death sentence to cut water anymore, but they did, however, cut the bred to one and a half ounces a piece. (pg. 163) I personally didn't see the need for this. If they had stayed on the island to build up strength and supplies then left with more provisions then they may have been in better shape. Also in this chapter the first two men died; Matthew Joy the previously sick second mate and the extremely malnourished African American Richard Peterson. Both of these men had what the other crew members could spare tied to their legs and were thrown in to the open ocean.

Chapter 9

At this point the men thought an island would be salvation and for a while it was. The men had spotted an island made of coral, and after cautious inspection they landed on the beach. The first thought on everyone’s mind was water. They found crevasses that had just drops left in them from the last rain, but over were originally unsuccessful, however they did happen to be able to find food. They ate native birds, fish, crab, and what flora they could find. The search for water on the following day proved to be more successful. The men found a spring. It was only accessible at low tide all other times it was covered by the harsh salt water of the Pacific Ocean. They stayed on the beach for a few more days, but after filling all containers that would hold water they set out again. They put a large stone in the bottom of each boat and brought fire wood so they could stay warm in to coming weeks of winter and also to cook their food. (pg. 149) However, when boarding three men did not join the rest of the crew they elected to stay behind and take they chances on the island. I thought this was the smartest decision possible. They found a spring they had access to fresh water and even if they decided it was a hassle have to wait for the tide they could have easily dug a well with the whaling tools they had.

Chapter 8

This is when the men started feeling the effects of hunger and the officers decided to cut provisions in half to one cup of water a day and three ounces of bread. This took a tremendous toll on the men; they were weak and stuck in an area of no wind. Without a breeze they had to row to move. (pg. 129) With this grueling task and lack of food they were even weaker and had little motivation to continue pushing. Also by this point the second mate is very sick and no one is sure how much longer he will last. In my opinion when Chase and Pollard noticed his deterioration they should have appointed a new commander of boat because he was barely able to give out rations let alone guard them.

Friday, January 4, 2013