Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

The author, Alfred Lansing, chooses to introduce the story by immediately transporting his reader to the Weddell Sea, where the Endurance is being crushed by Antarctic ice floes. Is this an effective literary device in terms of conveying the sense of danger, adventure, and excitement that characterized this voyage? How might the tempo of the book have been changed had the story been told in more chronological order?

Consider the irregular methods by which Shackleton determined which of the 5,000 applicants for positions of the voyage would be hired. The author advises us that “If he liked the look of a man, he was accepted” (14). While this method was entirely antithetical to those touted as conventional screening practices, it was apparently successful: The ship was run by a determined, dedicated, and loyal crew. What might you infer about Shackleton’s personality and character as a result?

Consider the evacuation of a somewhat unruly pack of dogs intended for pulling sleds from the Endurance. Although the crew was a diverse group hailing from a variety of backgrounds, they melded well and created such a calm, organized environment that the animals calmly allowed themselves to be sent sliding down a canvas chute from the ship’s rail to the ice floe below.