Chapter 2

Chapter 2

                In this chapter the reader is exposed to the Essex and her crew. When a ship would leave port in Nantucket, it was a public event. The crew would have to get all of the sails up and ropes in appropriate places, a task that could be challenging under pressure for an experienced crew. This crew, however, was not experienced; the launch was a total humiliation for the Captain. During the launch the captain is to give no orders or assist in any way the launch was left to the clumsy crew. (pg. 29)  The crew was twenty-one men, including the captain and mates, and again there is a hierarchy. Firstly the first and second mates, Owen Chase and Matthew Joy, chose their teams of men to do the shifts of work on the ship. They started of picking the Nantucket natives, following the islanders the white men from the main land were picked next. Finally, like the little kids no one wants to be on their team in dodge ball, the African Americans were chosen next. Yet again I found this odd, it shouldn’t matter where the person is from or what color they are if they are better able to do the work then they should be picked first. Yes, I do realize that in this time the African American’s were rarely free, equality wouldn’t be heard, but the more hard working,  able members on a shift would get the desired amount of work done faster. After the ship shift teams were chosen the whale perusing teams were chosen next. Captain Pollard along with Chase and Joy participated in this pick, and yes, the picks were done in the exact same order with six men in each whale boat and three to stay aboard the Essex to tend to the ship.