In the Heart of the Sea

In the Heart of the Sea The novel â€Å"In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex,† by Nathaniel Philbrick, successfully tells the story of the whale ship Essex that was attacked by a sperm whale 1,500 nautical miles west of the Galapagos, 40 miles south of the equator. Many people know this as the story of â€Å"Moby Dick†, which was based off this event. The novel 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 time, is known as one of the most successful whaling ports. Docked on the port was the famous Essex, a 20 year whaling boat. The Essex is the pride of Nantucket. It is 87 feet long, 238 tons, equipped with 12 sails and carried several smaller whaling boats that were used when a whale was spotted. After lasting many years, the Essex developed a reputation for being a lucky ship. Many voyages lasted around two to three years in the Pacific Ocean. Many young boys, such as Thomas Nickerson, joined whaling crews at a young age.These crews were mixed of experienced whalers and â€Å"green hands,† men who have never sailed on a whaling ship. Usually, these new crew members would earn around $150 for two years work, so the experienced workers made the most of these â€Å"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 making lamps (because there is no electricity, gas or kerosene). It is also used in margarine, shoe polish and soap. Baleen is a substance that comes from the mouths of the whale.They can be found in many women’s clothing. These two important goods come from whales and the only way to obtain the oil and baleen is to make a voyage out to see and find the whales. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to the town of Nantucket and whaling business. His disc ussions of this set us up for the events following later in the book. Philbrick also talks about the relationship between the colonists in Nantucket. They are 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 lived in the town was based on what rank they are in their society. The captain’s home would usually have the best view of the harbor. The seven 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 gain experience for future journeys. Nantucket was brought together by the whaling industry, and the community would usually see ships off before they took off.The Essex sailed off from Nantucket on August 12, 1819 under the command of 28 year-old Captain George Pollard, Jr. He spent the last four years on the Essex, and knew it very well. However, Philbrick points out that Pollard was not ready for be a captain, and we see why later on in the book. Owen Chase is the captain’s first mate, and Matthew Joy was the second mate. 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 â€Å"outsiders. The captain and his mates 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 embark on their journey, the men begin to complain about their rations. Pollard, was able to talk 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. Chase and his crew go after a whale, which destroys their boat with its tail.When they bring their boat back to the Essex, they s pot a huge sperm whale near the bow of the ship calmly and quietly floating along the surface of the water. The whale began to move quickly towards the ship. The men try to steer Essex away from the whale, but are unsuccessful. The whale rams the ship with its head, and the men are amazed. After the whale revives itself, it struck the ship again, causing the Essex to sink bow-first. The men board their whaleboats after a night of preparation of leaving 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. Chase and Pollard talk of where to go now that their ship has sunk. They speak about going to the Galapagos Islands, but Pollard noticed the wind 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 Tauamot u Archipelago Islands, but the men had also heard that the islands have a bad reputation.In this conversation, we notice the colonist’s outlook on the unknown. They share a sense 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 Society Islands. There, Pollard saw 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 become 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 water burned their sores, and the men, being as weak as they were, were unable to row the boats. On top of all that, another whale attacks Pollard’s 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. Three men chose to stay on the island while the others left.Pollard promised he would rescue them after he reached South America. They return 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 weren’t 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 two. On January 20, Lawson Thomas, a black crew member, dies, and the crew contemplates turning to cannibalism.The men concluded that in order to survive, they must eat the dead crew members. It is ironic that the men turned to cannibali sm, because they feared the inhabitants of the Marquesas. Three months after the Essex sank; the remaining two whaleboats are rescued in different areas along the South American coast. Two men were left alive in Pollard’s boat and three men in Chase’s 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 ship’s sinking. The whaling industry quickly fell to other towns. A fire that burned nearly a third of the town added to the difficulties. The men of the Essex were haunted when recalling what happened. Even Chase was deemed insane. This event caused the town of Nantucket to separate. The townspeople were no longer 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 w hat these men had to do when they are stranded, and teaches us the meaning of nature, survival, and suffering.Bibliography â€Å"Alone in the Pacific. † Salariya Publishing. Web. 18 Oct. 2010. <http://www. salariya. com/web_books/whaling/alone/alone. html>. â€Å"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 Sea Nicole Hart HIST 2300- Christopher Trobridge Writing Assignment One October 16, 2010 â€Å"In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whale ship Essex† In order 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 differently 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 â€Å"the village of Nantucket one of the richest towns in America. † â€Å"In the Heart of the Sea† It also created a close-knit community with a few very successful and influential 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 reaching 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 century and the early nineteenth century were considered â€Å"†¦a consumer revolution. † â€Å"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. Every mate on a whale ship received a fraction of the profit that the whale ship would return with the oil it found. The more responsibility 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, due to him having the most responsibility, while Thomas Nickerson’s share was the experience 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 situation that occurred early in their journey was a foreboding of things to come. Weeks into there journey the Essex experienced a â€Å"Knockdown†, a knockdown is a severe weather event that led to damage of the Essex. Captain Pollard was slow to respond to the weather issue at hand. The result was damage to half of their whaleboats that they used to harpoon whales. After the damage was done Pollard felt it would be best to return to Nantucket to replenish the ship with a new compliment of whaleboats.First mate Owen Chase convinced the Captain to p roceed 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 â€Å"a Captain that had the skills of a first mate and first mate Owen was showing to have the skills of a Captain. † â€Å"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 Pollard’s initial plan was shelved for fist mate Chase’s 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 division of each boat.The majority of the Nantucketers ended up in Captain Pollards boat. A few of the remaining Nantucketers ended up in First mate Chase’s boat and the majority of African American sailors ended up in second mate Hendrix’s boat. First mate Owen Chase proved 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 role 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 â€Å"maternal† side. This chan ge 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 differently to Captain Pollard’s boat and first mate Chase’s boat. Captain Pollards and Hendrix boat became separated from Chases boat.The African American crewmembers having a low body fat content and a mineral deficient diet became prone to death 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 life as food and who would kill that sailor. On first mate Chase’s 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 c hose 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 that Captain Pollard experienced having to eat his nephew then facing his Aunt would be something I don’t think I could endure or ever live with.For Nantucket and the men involved in whale hunting it is more than just a hunt. It was a way of life, a way of survival, and the entire focus 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 â€Å"†¦to maintain a peaceful life on land while raising bloody 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. â€Å"Of the People: A history of the United States. † New York: Oxford University Press. Nathaniel Philbrick. â€Å"In the heart of the sea:The tradgedy of the Whaleship Essex† New York: Penguin Books, 2000.