Thomas Nickerson's In The Heart Of The Sea

Improved Essays
Life was hard for the men at sea as well as for the women back home, because of the distances set upon them due to the voyages that lasted two to three years, the men were out at sea. Many young men as young as fourteen years old, from Nantucket, idolized the Essex and dreamed of becoming one of the whale hunters aboard the vessels.Although the Essex might not look like much being stripped from her rigging and all, many saw the vessel as opportunity, especially Thomas Nickerson who was eager to go to sea. After Nickerson explored the dark, hot interior on his first moments aboard the Essex, the thrill was soon over. The Essex was no cruise ship to vacation on, Nickerson and the gradually accumulating crew of the Essex labored to prepare the ship for voyage. During the winter, the Nantucket’s wharvers were topped by a layer of oiled soaked sand the stench was rising being pungent enough to make a veteran whaleman gag.
On the other hand some of the Nantucket whaleman wives adapted quite well to the three year way, three months at home rhythm of the whale fishery. Some wrote in their journals, like Eliza brock, expressing their longing for their men across the sea but also loved the freedom after shedding a few tears from their husbands departure. Although many of the whaleman
…show more content…
When i first started reading this book I expected to be bored and force myself to read because i was assigned to do so, instead i was moved by how harsh life was back then, unlike the present era, and how easy it is nowadays compared to back then. Personally not seeing my girlfriend for two weeks bothers me to the point where i complain to my mom to take me to her house, or even sneak out to go see her, so i can't imagine how the men at sea felt when they were away from home for years from their beloved wives, enduring harsh

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In The Water is Wide, Pat Conroy and Mrs. Brown have very different points of view in their teaching. They both use different approaches in their way of teaching and disciplinary actions to their students. Pat Conroy is very surprised to find out how little these poor young black children actually know. The Water is Wide excerpt showed many cultural models that displayed the differences in Pat Conroy and Mrs. Brown.…

    • 1190 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    O Brien Themes

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages

    F: How does the way O’Brien structures his work inform the themes and messages he develops? The way O’Brien structures his work through the use of narrative storytelling, direct quotation, and recurring motifs help emphasize the themes of post-war hardships, emotional weakness, and guilt . O’Brien uses common motifs of amoral decision making, isolation, and moral ambiguity. The motifs set the path for the book because O’Brien creates a novel about a group of men who endure the mental and physical fight on war.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. INDENTURED SERVANTS: Colonists who exchanged up to seven years of work for the entry to America and a chance at a superior life there. Indentured servants were the essential wellspring of work in America (pg. 61). While in the colony, the indentured servants needed to tend to the place that is known for the estate and plant the crops. Once the contractually bound slave's agreement was fulfilled, they were to get a real estate parcel of their own and appreciate the advantages of owning the area.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “War does not determine who is right- only who is left,” is a quote by Bertrand Russell. This spectrum expresses the casualties of war. In other words, Russell means war is used as an outlet to define a “winner”, or in this case, someone who is right. The veiled truth is that there are no true winners of war when comparing the damage created and the lives lost. Looking at war through that perspective, John F. Kennedy, among others, also agreed.…

    • 1616 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Life during World War II was a time unlike any other. American author, John Steinbeck, gave up a life of fame and riches to follow troops around the Eastern hemisphere and document their journeys. Though there are many sources a person could go to for information about the war, Steinbeck’s account goes into great detail about what life was actually like for an American solider during the war. On his journeys, Steinbeck recorded many aspects of the war that would otherwise go unnoticed. Throughout Steinbeck’s travels, he records accounts of how soldiers adjusted to military life, how life continued during the war, and how the soldiers reacted during combat.…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Time gives one the realization of ones identity; gives one the opportunity to decide who one wants to be or who one has become. Syllogism provides the reason one may be the way they are, connecting two things to create an answer. O’Brien’s use of syllogism explains how he has changed, from his life before the war and after. He often talks about how time has had an affect on him. If not for the experiences and things he had done, he would be a completely different person.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The sailors gave up things that mattered in their life just because of the beauty the mermaids and mermen possessed. The men were in love with the mermaids and mermen to the point where they’d give their whole lives for them if that meant they could be with them forever. They didn’t care about anything other than them. The mermaids and mermen made the men selfish and greedy in that sense.…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The beginning part of the chapter reminded me a lot of my dad. My dad had just turned eighteen and was one of the last men to get drafted in Omaha. He was opposed to the war and refused to shoot a gun so he joined the navy. “’They would read off the number, and I remember this guy Steven—his number was one of the first, and it was like, oh my God. And he just sat there.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The terrors of the Vietnam War has always frightened the people into hiding. Afraid of facing death in the eye or having your friend die in your arms. But what if there was more to the war then meets the eye? What if you were your own worst enemy? In the novel, Fallen Angels, Walter Dean Myers uses both the setting and time period to explore controversial topics.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Middle Passage Dbq

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Middle Passage was the voyage from Africa to the West Indies. Also, 6 million Africans were transported out of Africa. About 2 million Africans died as a result of the Middle Passage and approximately 15% of them died on the voyages. Therefore, the Middle Passage was a very dangerous and difficult voyage considering how the slaves were treated and the ship’s conditions.…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    This chapter contrasts greatly with the harsh war-time reality as it describes in vague terms those detached from the war making the decision to go to war. For the rest of the book however, the structure is chronological and follows the squad through this certain period of the…

    • 1781 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his book, All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque is characterizing a young generation who lost everything in the Great War. He describes how Paul the main character, and his comrades perish one by one to the brutality of the war. The author describes how they become more dehumanized, as they fight endlessly for nothing. Because in many of the fiercest battles of the war, there is hardly any territory won or lost, yet the casualties are huge. Finally, the book has an anti-war message prevalent throughout as strong theme.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Things They Carried War is a wretched battlefield. It twists the minds of soldiers, scarring them with experiences that can last a lifetime. During war, there are some experiences that one cannot verbally formulate into words that truly capture what had happened. As the author of “The Things They Carried”, Tim O’brien writes with a style that brings his stories to life, as it allows the readers to be able to feel the situation as if them themselves were in it.…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    However, women also hold enough capacity to be the men’s weakness as they have the potential to make them feel discouraged, vague, and uncertain. When O’Brien published this novel, “the worry about women readers was well-grounded” (Vernon). Women are a primary representation of their own youth, innocence, and dignity. The soldiers must vicariously live through the women back at home as they are not allowed to personally embody those characteristics due to the role they play in war. Women help the men escape their cold, merciless reality of war by serving as an outlet to daydreams and hazy fantasies.…

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    To Lettie, her “ocean” had become a sanctuary, it was a place of refuge. Not only was it a safe place for her, and the doorway to a magical world, the pond became her friend. It took on lifelike characteristics and became a constant listening ear. The Hempstock’s pond became a listener to Lettie’s heart.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays