Do or die, The Heart of the Sea

In the Heart of the Sea is a story of suffering men dealing with the carnage of an unpredictable and unforgiving sea. And, as you probably know, the shipwreck tale has become a recurring staple in literature and finds its way in many snit bits of pop culture.

But, I had to ask myself, why is this? Are we just suckers for boats and sperm whales?

Then I started thinking about it, what themes tend to underlie a shipwreck story? And then on down the line I went…What other storylines share the similar themes? Well you have the ship wreck, the plane crash, the deserted island, the mountain climbing expedition that goes awry, these inexplicably horrifying circumstances keep finding themselves staying in the backs of weary minds, and all the while staying all the more relevant. These settings keep reinforcing universal moral conflictions over and over again, as Suzanne mentioned in class the other day “history is repeating itself….right?” Sorry Suzanne, you know I love you. While the woes of Jacobs, The Coquette, Poe’s literature, are of a social kind of struggle, and the woes of the Essex's crew are of a natural kind.

It’s this facet of the shipwreck tale, or the deserted island, that keeps our attention. While this class touches upon the idea of self-reliance, self-preservation in societal demographics narratives like Philbrick’s provide opposition to these ideals which are much more urgent, dire, and fatal. Consequently, the reveal of the ‘self’ and the ability to remain true to ones’ self in such circumstances becomes all the more vividly exposed and challenged.

While it is all but incontestable that the initial "sacrifices" of the crew of the Essex are forced upon them I mean it isn’t like they set out wreck a boat in the middle of the ocean, there's stillthe existence of choice in the narrative. Choice to preserve the self not just in the survival meaning of the word but in the moral sense of the word preservation. Even though many die of disease or dehydration, sooner or later there moral grounds become tested either eat, be eaten.
The appeal of stories like this one might exist solely on the grounds that few can know the true character of themselves based on circumstances like this one. Consequently, the reader takes the journey with the characters in the story as opposed to looking at the circumstances as an outsider.

"If necessity forced them to act like animals, they did so with the deepest regrets. ... William Bond in Hendricks's boat was the last African American left alive. ... Bond had enjoyed a far more balanced and plentiful diet than his shipmates in the forecastle. ... [N]ow that he was the only black among six whites, Bond had to wonder what the future held." -p. 173, In the Heart of the Sea
Individual and/or group attempts at boosting morale were important to the survivors of the Essex. By encouraging each other to get things done more efficiently, but at the same time making sure to keep busy, the sailors could at least have a fair chance of shifting their thoughts temporarily away from their dire and terrible situation.

"Indeed, what appears to have distinguished the men of the Essex was the great discipline and human compunction they maintained through the whole ordeal." -p. 173, In the Heart of the Sea
As for the survivors of In the Heart of the Sea, their only real "reward," apart from living with memories of their horrific pasts, is social alienation and mental anguish. "Old age was not kind to Owen Chase. His memory of his sufferings in an open boat never left him, and late in life he began hiding food in the attic of his house on Orange Street. By 1868 Chase was judged 'insane.' The headaches that had plagued him ever since the ordeal had become unbearable. Clutching an attendant's hand, he would sob, 'Oh my head, my head.' Death brought an end to Chase's suffering in 1869." - p. 228, In the Heart of the Sea